Andy Siddall

The story that I was told and have since heard repeated was that as the throat was quite tight, sighting for speed limit posts in both directions was st a premium. The beauty of 8 was that it could be read in either direction rather than the numbers 5 and 10 which are obviously directional. Andy

Ooh, the kind of intrigue that I like JB! Until then here are a couple more of the recently finished wagons. Next stop, something to pull them (as if the V2 and J39 weren't good enough)!

So folowing on from my last posts, .I have had a little time off so far this year and so have managed a few Connoisseur Wagon kits to extend my goods. I will weather them but wait until I have a few more to do as a batch. The K1 and Scotsmans are stalled projects at the moment and I just cannot convince the mojo to look in their direction.

Twice in a day I hear you say!!! Well don't worry it will not last. Early(ish) finish today so managed an enjoyable hour with soldering Iron in hand. Made a start on the Connoisseur LNER Bulk Grain Hopper and I must say it's a cracker so far, up to Jims usual standard. 2 identical etches and the usual pre-rolled roof and small bag of castings all attached to a piece of card along with detailed instructions. Sadly things will slow down for the next few days due to w*rk... Cheers Andy

Wow, I cannot believe that it is over 6 years since I last posted anything in here. I know I have been busy building modern stuff for the diesel side of my collection but this seems far too long. Just a little update to start as I have spent a pleasant few hours this weekend building a Connoiseur Models 12t LNER fitted van, started Firday afternoon and finished on Sunday. It was my way of celebrating finishing last years company accounts.... Next up, another on of Jim's kits, the LNER Bulk Grain hopper Wagon. Cheers Andy

While there are many people who can do just as well or better for less, the problem is that they are not doing. Regarding the diesel range only , JLTR covered a large number of prototypes with well detailed and very easily built kits, my 1st class 20 took less than a month to complete. MMP being a classic case in point in that the detail on the kits is second to none, however they have been off the market for at least 5 years now. With the advent of relatively large batches of locos to the RTR market why would a company like MMP rush to re-introduce the class 56 foor example only for a RTR company to announce one and remove nearly all possible sales. We have just seen this with LLC cancelling their class 50 project. The crux comes though when all of the RTR class 56's have sold out a year after their introduction and anyone new to the hobby or who just wants one but didn't buy one at the time are left with no alternative but to hope for a second hand example (sadly I cannot see a company producing more than aone batch of such a prototype). I count myself very lucky that I purchased my JLTRT class 47 kit when I did. i wanted to model 47407 from the original batch and my only alternative would have been to wait (x years) until HJ etc decide to produce at least another batch (finally announced for a release next year) of class 47s and then hack it into the loco that I want. Cheers Andy

Fair enough! Nice work on the conversion Brian! Will you be bringing it along to the club in a couple of weeks?

Sadly Jeff there are not many others offering the range of locos either as a kit or RTR that JLTRT did or MM1 could. For example let us take the class 37/5 sub class as that is a particular want of mine at the moment. I could purchase a Heljan model for around £475 and then take a saw to it in order to create the loco that I want, followed by paint stripping and a repaint, while this is valid way of acheiving a 37/5 I personally do not like modifying RTR or hacking £500 worth of model that may or may not have some other mistakes made in its tooling etc. The alternative is to buy a kit and build it, you have the very nice DJH kit, now only oproduced in batches when there is enough demand, priced at £525 less motor wheels etc, but (I am lead to believe) this is a quite a difficult kit to build largely on account of the massive pewter body casting. The JLTRT/MM1 kit if re introduced may cost nearer £700 for the kit, so a finished loco would probably cost around £1000, however I would have the loco that I wanted from a kit specifically designed to give me that sub-class, built easily and in a reasonably timescale. At the end of the day you pays your money etc, but the way that JLTRT produced tooling to allow all subclasses and variations to be modelled is a time consuming and costly process and those costs needed to be recouped and at the prices that JLTRT charged they were obviously not being. Cheers Andy

43023 and 064 pause at Derby on 3rd September 1990.

This is sad news indeed as I am sure that many were looking to purchase and build JLTRT kits as and when funds became available which is the problem with RTR. I personally see this as a wider debate than just JLTRT going by the wayside in that RTR is built using a batch system whereby stock is brought to the market in limited numbers and once it has gone then that is it. should one wish to purchase a previously produced model at a later date then they have to look at the second hand market or hope that a manufacturer will make another batch, therefore if you want a loco or item of stock the best option to secure it is to buy it when it is released on pre-order. An other issue is if say you want a class 37/5 for your steel train then the only option is to purchase a brand new 37 model and modify it to that sub class. The kit manufacturer on the other hand is more likely to produce a kit over a number of years and while selling fewer numbers is more likely to be a help to people who are budgeting to buy stock or cannot afford to purchase an item when it comes to market for a limited amount of time. While some locos like the Heljan 60 appear to have not sold too well and there are still some available new stock, they will eventually sell and anyone wanting a 60 after that point will either be out of luck as with low sales Heljan are unlikely to produce another batch, the alternative, try to find one on the second hand market. I often read here that 'kits cost too much' or 'I do not have the skills / cannot build kits'. Skills are something that accrue during a lifetime and everyone who does build has to start with a first kit, mine is a terrible mess but I still keep it (diagonal chimney and all) to remind me of how I started all those years ago, I couldn't build kits when I started either but I can look back at what I have built and see where my skills have improved and 30 years later I am still improving...I hope! As for finances then we are all in different boats and it is a case of each to their own but the kit built loco is truly yours and even though you may pay a little more you will have a unique loco and may have gained just a little more skill to help build the next one. Apologies that this has turned into a long winded, soap box inspired rant but I have seen this situation coming for a little while but am shocked as I did not expect it to come so soon. Hopefully something shall rise out of the ashes of Just Like The Real Thing, we shall have to watch this space and see. Cheers Andy

That's right Peter, the 'new' old Horton Road footbridge. I need to start branching out as I now have loads of pics of 60s from here and the Stockley Road footbridge a little further East but there are not a lot of good spots this side of Acton. West Drayton is only a 20 minute walk away too which is an advantage!

60021 hauls the Colnbrook to Lindsey empty tanks through West Drayton on Monday 8th January 2018.

Brian, The Queen Mary looks spot on, hope you had as much fun building yours as I did mine. Andy

60026 did the honours on the Colnbrook tanks today, seen here passing Stockley Park running about 30 minutes down after a late departure. Cheers Andy

Hi David, i think it is meant to be the sight glass for the radiator coolant though it does look a bit too prominent to me. It has broken off on one of my pair and I must say that I think it looks slightly better for it. Cheers Andy

37248 (leading) 37371 through Chesterfield about to crossover from the down main to head along the Old Road through Barrow Hill with a train of tanks. 37058 heads through Chesterfield Station with a northbound freight, 20th February 1990. 37107 FURY at Tinsley TMD open day, 29th September 1990. Cheers Andy

47803 'Women's Guild' on a northbound cross country working from Sheffield, 19th February 1990. 47407 at Hellifield with a rake of MkII coaches on a Leeds working, on the 24th of February 1990. Cheers Andy

September the 3rd 1990 and we find 20058 and 20087 top and tailing trains on the Matlock Branch. Cheers Andy

Cracking Dogfish Mr G, a very good job very well done. Cheers Andy

Thanks Mr G, A nice collection of parts there as well as the buffers,I think an order shall have to be placed. Cheers Andy

Very nice work Mr Grumpy, you are making a great job of what Ivan only describe as a great kit, would it be rude to ask if you are willing to share the source of self contained buffers as I could do with some for one or two of my as yet unbuilt kits. As for the RSU, you would not be disappointed, I personally didn't realise how much more pleasant they can make building a kit of this type with a little practice. Cheers Andy

A couple from the 12th of September 1991, 60011 'Cader Idris' heads north on the 'Old road' at Chesterfield with a rake of HEA hoppers. Followed shortly by 60030 'Cir Mhor'with a loaded steel train. Cheers Andy