Buhar

Is this post available in English? Alan

In later years the FR had a few small tank engines from Sharp Stewart (two types) and one from Andrew Barclay, none of which resemble this one. I wonder if it's from one of the local private colliery or ironstone railways in for attention? Alan

The maths around buying traditional jigs against buying a filament printer soon favour the latter, aside from track bases and then other useful bits. Going from Templot to print without the angst of hoping your own drawing is watertight and viable is a real plus in moving to new technology. Thank you John (plus James and Martin) for exploring this development.

Given the B2B is ok, I'm wondering if it's the width of the flange on the rogue models that's causing the binding or derailing. I'll be interested to see how this develops. In the interest of fairness, 00-SF was designed for the finer wheels usually found under kit-built locos. The fact that most modern RTR runs through well ended up being a useful by-product. (Sort of like Marmite, a by-product of beer that divides opinion.) Alan

It was a really transient business, wasn't it. Local coal traders operating for 20 years or so, maybe with a name change along the way, collieries being worked out or the industries served closing. Alongside that we're trying to find the right wagon in the right livery for our chosen timescale. Obviously many bits of the industry were long lasting (Ayres of Reading still a going concern) but there are a lot of moving targets. Alan

Oh look! A squirrel. Alan

I recall someone used dried spaghetti. Not going to be resistant to knocks but.... Alan

Oh dear, John! The cost of the kit was just over 9p, a shilling was 5p. When did they go up to 2/6 (12.5p)? I have that in my head as my pocket money in the early sixties. But maybe my pocket money was two bob. Anyway, a kit each week from the twirly rack in the newsagents. Alan

Fortunately, most roundy-roundy layouts are viewed from the inside of the curve and so the outside wall of the tunnel can be longer and, if boxed as on Stoke Bank, a good illusion can be created. I liked the drill hole on Charlwalton, very effective and a very clever idea. With a layout, like Blytham where alternative viewing angles have been built in or an exhibition layout viewed from the outside maintaining the deception is tricky to impossible. Alan

Surely only relatively big. Alan

@billbedford was being mischievous again with his font remark. Fonts were developed around printing and then (much) further developed with word processing on computers. Some font designs were used on signs (I think from around the late 1920s - eg LNER and Gill) but signwriting/painting was a separate discipline and there would be no need for a design for a complete alphabet in most situations. Sometimes luck will give you a font that is near enough for a letter or two but saying the MR's M is Garrick font and then expecting the R in the same font to be the same as the Midland's is too much to expect. Alan

Hmm - just about an eightieth of a perch or rod. May scale better in cubits. Alan

I think it may be one of a pair. The bunker backplate is fabricated differently to the right as we look at it and there is a faint something in about the right place, assuming the visible one is off centre. Fire-iron stays? The DJH kit has them as a pair and they look very like they might be stays. Alan

That's correct, including the MR/LMS period. However to negotiate curves on many model railways I think flangeless may be a necessary compromise on the model. Also, given that most 8 and 10 coupled locos (and a few 6) had flangeless drivers it won't look odd to the casual observer. Alan

Oceans Eleven? Or maybe more. Alan

Hi Tony, I hope you've prepared your PM folder for a hail of incoming! One already sent. Alan

I cut a slot in a penny washer to allow it to slide over the axle and sit fully behind the wheel. The wheel puller pulls on the edge of the washer. I think the washer is about an inch in diameter. If the wheelbase is very close you'll need a washer close to the driver diameter. Alan

I think that gets to the nub of it. The Midland had quite big engines just before WW1 but had come close or reached to the limits of their infrastructure, plus running frequent services over much of their system worked, especially as the London main line was quadrupled. The S&C isn't really comparable with the northern section of the WCML which served significant population centres and industry where quadrupling was not possible, hence long, heavy trains needing hefty motive power. After the LNWR's plan for domination of the new company unravelled, I tend to blame Jimmy Anderson (despite him being a product of Kilmarnock) for thinking Midland working arrangements would cover every corner of the new LMS. Although I was brought up on the small engine myth* (Jenkinson, Essery and others since my teenage years) I believe now that it was a no-6P issue. Fowler's 2-6-4Ts could hardly be described as a small engine, neither could the Horwich mogul (tender excepted), but there wasn't a successful, reliable candidate for development as a powerful express passenger type working anywhere on the LMS. The Hughes 4-6-0s seemed OK when first trialled on the northern WCML (after the 1922 amalgamation) and the reboilered Claughtons also seemed to have potential, but very heavy coal consumption and reliability issues punctured those balloons. The continuing of the Caley Class 60 is just baffling and I suspect the Rivers, which could have been useful, were hidden from anyone who might think of duplicating them. The rest of the Caley 4-6-0s were a mixed bag with, unfortunately, the older ones being the better but not powerful enough. The Compounds did very well on the 2 hour Euston- New St services but were not really right when they ventured north of the Mersey (except of course in Ayrshire). Hauling 13 or 14 coaches up Grayrigg, Shap and Beattock after being at sea level twice was a huge task which the LNWR only just seemed to keep up with by tolerating significant coal and repair costs that were unsustainable after the war. Alan *Saying that I reserve the right to tease Stephen occasionally on the subject.

Of course, the ROD tenders ended up behind those Claughtons which had been adjusted to work on the Midland Division. Alan

The LNW RODs (Military Marys) worked into LMS days and some "enjoyed" a repaint into LMS livery. I believe some were purchased purely for their tenders as the price was worth it. I don't know if the locomotives themselves were assessed as not worth doing up. The Caley and LYR also acquired some RODs but shifted them on fairly sharpish. Alan

You do need to use good quality screws and bits with an impact driver as the torque can mash either if you hit a firm bit of wood. Alan

Upon crossing the border they were immediately designated "link" to avoid confusion with the square or Lorne variety. Alan

I think you'll find the M&CR applied an elaborate red and gold lining to the underframes with the builder's plate burnished and the tare in scroll script picked out in gold leaf. Alan

I recalled it too and found it here with a bit more detail than you gave this time. Alan

I recall reading somewhere, I think it was a comment from @Martin Wynne, that the lower head on Peco bulllhead was significantly more bulbous than scale. Alan