mike morley

I moved to Bletchley in the late 80's and soon after arriving found my new boss was a fellow railway enthusiast who was actively involved in the efforts to re-open the Bletchley-Oxford line. He took me to a meeting in Winslow village hall where someone from Network SouthEast(?) was the main speaker and very good he was, too. It was made clear that there was no problem with the principal of restoring passenger traffic to the line, but he also made it quite clear (without ever quite stating it so bluntly) that the line was already so close to full capacity with the freight traffic that in those days was still using the line that it would be extremely difficult find paths for any passenger trains. Despite that, they managed to find a path for a Marylebone to Milton Keynes Christmas Shoppers Special along the line (I've never seen so many pheasants in my life!) and another, rather more intriguing train that resulted in my parents arriving for a visit one weekend with the news that a pannier tank that could only have come from Quainton Road was sizzling quietly on Newton Road bridge.

Swanbourne station, a handful of miles west of Bletchley, snapped on a cycle ride to Quainton Road's Gala on the fourth of this month. Not too long ago the track had disappeared completely beneath the undergrowth and trees, some of which had become quite sizeable. The vegetation has been cut back to the level in the foreground along all the readily accessible bits of the Bletchley - Winslow section, which probably means its been done along the entire section. I used to be Porkies postman and it was at least three, probably over four years ago that . . . would it have been Network Rail or Railtrack employees that long ago? were working their way along the houses that backed onto the line, delivering leaflets warning residents that work was about to begin on clearing the line prior to restoring it to useable condition. Its nice to see that some progress has finally been made.

If at first you do not succeed, do not give up! Soldering irons and their tips vary tremendously in style and nature and if your first attempt is a disaster it does not necessarily mean that either you or your soldering iron are ill-suited to the role. The first iron I used for white-metal kits was an already ancient 15watt Weller gifted to me by my father when he up-graded to something he regarded as better. I got on with it like a house on fire and all of my better white-metal kits have been built with it., When it eventually succumbed to advanced old age I replaced it with the latest Weller equivalent and loathed it from the word go, mostly because of the awful shape of the tip - Weller describe as "chisel" but I'd call it an extremely blunt wedge, and it's the only type available for that iron. Then my father died and I inherited the 18watt Antex he'd replaced the 15watt Weller he'd gifted to me. The shape of the tip suits me far better but the iron itself does not. I am now experimenting with the 15watt Weller and taking a file to tips intended for more powerful irons in order to make them fit. One day soon I hope to find an iron and a tip that suits me as well as the iron given to me by my father

Please post progress reports. The Wainwright "H" has always been one of my favourite locos but the reputation of 0-4-4's as being difficult to balance has always made me a bit wary of taking the plunge, so I'd be interested in seeing how you fare.

Yes I have. My concern is the high percentage of kits that do not include castings because, inevitably, the locos that interest me - C2z, E4 and Wainwright H - are amongst them.

I decided some years ago that if I was starting again in finescale I would go for 3mm. The opportunity to do that has now arisen, but closer investigation of what if available has made me realise that a high percentage of kits are "etchings only" with no indication as to where (or even if!) the castings needed to complete them might be obtained. The nearest there is to a clue is a rare picture of a loco on the Worsley Works website with a caption that states the boiler fittings were cast by Person A from masters made by Person B (whoever they are). The equally rare pictures of completed "etchings only" kits on the 3SMR website don't even go that far. The rarity of photographs of completed kits also makes me uneasy.

More than one person on this thread has suggested adding salt to the glue in order to improve its electrical conductivity. I have since tried that on several occasions and have always ended up with a lump of rubbery gloop that caused more problems than it solved. All those who have ever had to endure the ordeal of ballasting will be aware of how adding a squirt of washing up liquid to the glue destroys the surface tension to aid matters and I wonder if it could have a similar effect when using a static grass applicator. Could anyone with a scientific background advise?

A good thread to revive! The first Railway Modeller I ever bought (Jan '70?) had Brian Fayle's Harlyn Junction as the Railway of the Month - an inspriration then that is still able to hold it's head up now. I cannot now remember how, but not long after I acquired assorted magazines from even further back and a 1966 edition of Model Railway News featured Trevor Hughes's Trawsffynydd. I would imagine that anything in OO9 was ground-breaking in those days and there was a picture of a semi-derelict lineside hut with a partially-collapsed roof that 95% of us now would struggle to even approach, let alone equal.

Then, at the other extreme, is the shade of green Dolgoch was wearing in 2008!

Dave Love that picture! It certainly highlights the differences between the distinctly Southern green and the Land Rover green! As something of an aside, the conversation in the Llanfair Caereinion tearoom that sparked this discussion came about when Chevallier first came to the W&L a couple of years ago. IIRC, Chevy had been out on the Saturday but hadn't fared to well (Overheated axlebox?) and had spent most of the Sunday in the workshops being attended to. Everyone had assumed we had seen the last of it for the weekend when, just as we were all about to give up and go home, she was hauled out of the shed, steaming quietly, with the promise that a final run would be made that evening. While we all watching and waiting I was stood behind a fellow enthusiast and someone who was evidently a senior member of the W&L hierarchy, so was able to overhear this exchange. "Why did you paint it GWR green?" "It was the only colour we had enough of." The similarities to the Talyllyn's Land-Rover green story are obvious and I wonder if a similar debate about Chevy's livery will result some time in the future!

It wasn't a modeller who told me it was controversial. It was a Talyllyn member over a leisurely cuppa in (of all places) the tea room at Llanfair Caereinion . She told me that the original proposal to paint the locos in "non-classic" colour schemes had been the cause of much heated and acromonious debate at the time and that whenever a loco was due for a re-paint there was equally heated and acrimonious debate about what colour it should be painted. Interesting to hear about the source of the green. It might not be "true" Southern green, but in nature and style it is closer to it than anything with classic Talyllyn origins.

How many of us would even contemplate, let alone take and post for public scrutiny, close-up photographs of our work that were that microscopic? Five star heroism for daring to do it, and that is before we even consider the superlative quality of modelling that enables you to carry it off!! Wonderful!!. Absolutely fantastic!

Corris Number 4 from the top of the Alltwyllt incline. I know that painting the Talyllyn locos in "non-standard" colour schemes has long been controversial and for many years I sided with the purists. Then, a couple of years ago, I saw Tal-y-Llyn in BR lined black and it suited her so well my resolve began to waver. Let's face it, Kerr Stuart Tattoo's aren't the prettiest engines on the planet but this was my first sight of Number 4 in Southern lined green and I felt immediately that no other colour scheme was ever likely make her look that good.

Prompted by 45669's posting, here are my belated offerings, taken in late August. . Merseysider and the Corris guards van at Abergynolwyn. I've always felt that the Corris guards van was exceptionally modelogenic, but it wasn't until I saw Peter Kazer's superlative layout at Warley that I realised it originally had a ducket that made it even more interesting.

I agree entirely with RE6/6 on this. With regard to quality and ease of use they are mostly same vicinity. It's in the colour that they vary and is where you should look long and hard before deciding what to buy, because "real" colours look cartoonish in model form and would need to be muted an awful lot to look convincing in, say, 4mm scale.

Come on, you tease. Give us some more!

Chris What are the instructions with the Shirescenes carriage like? I bought a Shirescenes farmers cart kit a few months ago and the instructions that came with it are the most unbelievably appalling things I've ever had the misfortune to behold. I have since learned from others that they are typical of their carts and wagons range, which makes me rather wary of tackling any of their carriages.

I've got one of these getting close to the top of the "to do" list so it's good to see one under construction.. I've always fancied a go at both split-chassis construction and CSB suspension and the moment I took it out of the box I thought it was an ideal candidate for both, but I'm a bit wary of taking two leaps into the unknown at the same time. What do you reckon?

That's good enough for me! Thank you

I make no apologies for reviving an old thread, because one this useful deserves being given a bump to bring it to the attention of those who might not have seen it before. The question I've got that prompted the revival is to ask what others do when trying to apply static grass when in close proximity to things like backscenes, bridge abutments, retaining walls and the like because I've found I simply cannot get the applicator close enough to where I want it to go to do a good job. So far, the best results I've had have involved chucking a generous pinch of "grass" at the glue then waving the charged applicator as close to the scene of the action as I can get it in the hope of getting the threads to stand on end The results have, at best, been no more than okay, and never good enough to get away without introducing some kind of scenic break (a fence, a bush, a clump of weeds or undergrowth) between them and the areas where the applicator could be wielded the way the manufacturer intended.

I've just noticed that this August Bank Holiday's Corris show is billed as being at The Plas in Mach, rather than its usual venue at the school next to Corris station. An admittedly very quick trawl through here finds no other mention of this so I'm not sure if this is news or yet another case of me being a bit fick. I now click "post" fully expecting to be told that the venue changed last year, when I couldnt go . . . Edited to add that I've snce had a deeper trawl but still have found no other mention of the change of venue.

Cherry Orchard Farm, Penallt, on the climb out of the Wye Valley opposite Redbrook. I'm not sure if that green is paint or algae! A combination of both, possibly.

In "Behind the Steam" Bill Morgan gives a graphic description of having to fire a Bulldog on a bitterly cold winter night hauling a passenger train tender-first from Whitland to Neyland, a distance he mentions is 27 miles. This would have been in the early 20's.

Most of my childhood was spent on the footbridge at Southall and something that needs to be added to your stocklist is Class 08 number D3972. In the early/mid 60's the Brentford branch was the sole preserve of D3972 - I never saw anything else go there. Usual train length was 6 or so vehicles (almost always vans, always fitted, all very shabby) and although longer trains were fairly common I dont recall seeing any longer than about ten vehicles. By then the shed itself was mostly used for stabling DMU's although the odd loco (usually a Hymek or a Class 22, which in those days were called North British) came or went. Strangely, I never saw D3972 visit the shed itself.

Go for belt and braces construction. This is one area where old-fashioned two-by-one, or even three-by-one timber framing is better than currently trendy plywood or MDF because it will come in for rougher treatment than "normal" baseboards. If you have a choice, I would also advise a hinged flap rather than a complete lift-out section. A hinged flap can get dropped (hence the need for belt and braces construction) but it cannot get dropped onto the floor, which a lift out section can. Finally, rig up a microswitch or something that cuts power to the track approaching the flap when it is raised so a train cannot inadvertantly be driven into a yawning chasm.