Mike J

Hi Steve, Thanks for the 'awesome'. I'll try and remember to take some more photos when I'm next at the club. Mike

We will forgive you just this once Mr. King. (Continued success at work) Thank you for your kind words regarding the show, Tony. It was, once again our pleasure to host both you and Mo at our humble gathering. Our grateful thanks are hereby extended, for your contribution to what was a highly successful show which broke the previous attendance record for this event. I cannot recall receiving any negative comments, not even anything concerning odious children! Mike

I must say a big thank you to Tony and Mo for their contribution to a wonderful weekend. Meeting up with all our guest modellers, people of great character who produce work of rare quality, is a tremendous thrill. Thanks to you all, it was a very well received little show.

13.5.15 The slow progress continues with most buildings being scratch built. This set of photos shows the station roof, North Eastern hotel, station throat and river bridges. It's going to be a long haul!

Thanks to your excellent photographs Doc, The North of England Line will have 4 scratch built N gauge grain wagons running on the layout at Keighley show this weekend. Keep up the good work restoring these worthy vehicles and thanks again for a fascinating thread. Mike

K1 renumbered to the preserved example and weathered for my mate Nick Skelton for his new layout, Lomond Street. (Silverlink's renumbering, my weathering) Still some straightening out to do, but she's just about ready. I used the photo on the 'Jacobite' website as a reference, showing 62005 at Grosmont NYMR. (Except for the crest and warning flashes) http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/locomotives-and-coaches.cfm

Hi Gremlin, Sorry to take so long to reply, but I've just returned from holiday, so no progress over the last two weeks. I've included some photos of the couplings and corridor connections as requested. I removed the standard knuckle couplings down to the back plate and replaced them with bent and formed wire, one hook and one loop. This is a set rake and will not be shunted, so that the ability to uncouple the cars on the layout is not required. The distance between the buffers is set at 4mm to allow the cars to negotiate the 12" radius hidden curves on The North of England Line. This compromise gets the cars closer coupled without risking bufferlock, derailment or parting. The trailing corridor connector on each car has the concertina attached to a rubbing plate. This is made from two pieces of paper cut to shape and slotted together to form a flexible and elastic representation of the real thing. To prevent this catching on the car following, a blank rubbing plate was attached to the following car to give a smooth flat surface for the connector to rub against when cornering. I think that fixing connectors gives the impression that the cars are closer coupled that they really are and improves the look of a full train. The following photos really do show up the areas requiring attention. Plenty of work still to do. Car no 69 showing the home made coupling and corridor connection. Car no 80 showing the home made coupling and rubbing plate. The two cars coupled together. Side on view of the coupling and connectors. Good luck with your project. Best wishes, Mike

I'll post some photos of the models as they are at present. They ran at TINGS in an unfinished state. Although the car exterior and roof is complete on each one, there are still underframe details and interiors as well as glazing to finish. I must say that Steve's Atlantic is the dog's doodahs and looks superb. I was more than happy to let it loose on The Queen of Scots where it created quite a buzz from spectators. Just waiting for the sun to come out in not so sunny Scarborough so that I can get some decent shots of the rake and also the couplings. Thanks, Mike

Hi Tony, I thought you might like, or be equally horrified to see this. http://www.scarboroughtvnews.co.uk/railway-exhibition.html If you wish, skip to 2.42 to miss out my bit and get to the Wright stuff. Thanks for your contribution and company on this enjoyable weekend. All the best, Mike

You are correct that the labels are not waterproof and that they will smudge if they come into contact with water. Howes railmatchgloss or satin solvent based varnish is recommended to seal them. I haven't decided what I'm going to do regarding this yet, although I might do a test on a spare piece of label. When you order the labels be careful to make sure that you are ordering for the correct car, either brake or parlour/kitchen as the labels are different for each. Good luck and I hope to see the results of your work posted here soon. Mike

As the sun came out today, I took some quick snaps of progress so far. An original Farish car on the left contrasts with parlour 75 without labels, kitchen 69 and first kitchen Phyllis. The windows have been removed and placed correctly for the all steel K class cars, roof details have been completed, paint work is still to be touched in and interior details and underfloor details are still awaiting completion. Phyllis showing the labels and colour difference in the umber shade. 3/4 view of Phyllis Kitchen cars No 69 and Phyllis. Close up of the labels for Phyllis, once again the camera has focusing difficulty and a slightly dirty lense. The task of getting all eight cars ready for The International N gauge show continues. I will also apply 'Queen of Scots' labels from Sankey Scenics to the roofs (and tailboard of the last car), as well as headboard to one of my Dapol A3's.

Yes, they are a pretty good match for the original Farish cars.

First set of labels applied to kitchen first Phyllis. Application. Colour matching for my repainted umber is still not as good as I'd hoped, but that's not the fault of Precision labels. I cut the labels out with scissors and then coloured the edges with dark felt tip to eliminate the white. After ensuring that the coach side was smooth and dust free I gently pressed one corner of the label into place and smoothly pressed the rest of the label down ensuring it was straight. The process was fairly easy and as with all things, better for taking some time to ensure accuracy. Observations. The labels are designed to fit the Farish Pullman cars in their original condition, and the length of each panel is a perfect fit. I have modified the height of the panels of the cars to cover most of the massive sole plate, so the labels are slightly short in height. They will fit an unmodified car perfectly. The fitted labels do give the cars a finished quality that was lacking on the Farish product. Paint. I have used the Precision Paints Pullman cream for the waist panelling. I cannot recommend the Precision Pullman umber as it will not match the labels, so I used Vauxhaul Brazil Brown which isn't so good a match either. I have not found a good match for the Farish umber. Perhaps someone out there knows of one? Conclusion. I'd recommend the labels for a quick and easy conversion and improvement to these cars. I'm still not entirely happy with my umber colour, but running on an exhibition layout the overall effect is good enough. Photos of my bodges will follow in the next few days.

My camera is a little limited when it comes to close up work, but I thought that you may be interested to see the new labels. Where the image is out of focus/blurred it is because of the cameras limitations. The printing is very sharp. There is a comprehensive instruction sheet with the set. The coaches have just had their third coat of cream, and will require one more coat after rubbing down. Then the new umber colour will be sprayed on after masking. Then finally I can get on with attaching the labels...finally!

The International N Gauge Show.......Not quite so international then!

Labels arrived today. Printing is crisp and detailed. Pullman crests are in my opinion superior to Fox transfers. Umber is a shade too dark, but it is coloured to match the Farish coaches which are also too dark. I'll have to respray the umber on the coaches so that the labels blend seamlessly. A little more work than I'd thought, so please give me a little time. All eight cars must be ready for TINGS though. All roof details are now done to include correct vents and electric fans as well as rivet ribbing and rain strips for 1928 condition. I think that the interior details may have to wait until after TINGS.

Labels have been posted with a couple of extra brake end panels (foc) to enable me to cut and shut them to fit my modified cars with the minimum number of cuts. Resizing would have been difficult, so it's the cut and shut method I'll be using for the brake ends. The parlour and kitchen cars will fit without modification. Friendly and efficient service dispatched next day. I've still got a bit of painting to complete on each of the eight car set, but I'll attempt to get at least one car ready to receive it's new identity as soon as possible so I can let you see how things progress.

No problem, I'll let you know how I get on and post some pictures. They have even offered to resize the brake car labels as I have converted all my Farish Pullmans to all steel K class units, making the brake cars a slightly different panel size. Excellent service so far. Mike.

Thanks Karhedron, Just placed an order for all labels for pre-war Queen of Scots 8 cars. I'd have been floundering without your information. Now all I have to do is get the whole set ready for TINGS. Cheers, Mike

It was great to see so many old friends this weekend, and if I couldn't spend as much time as I would have liked talking, I'm sorry. Although Tony and Mo (pleasantly) surprised us somewhat, it was great to welcome them back to our humble gathering. Tony has agreed to be more involved next year, but I'll leave it to the man himself to let you know just how. Tom Foster turned up with a weathered loco for Little Bytham duties, and what a beauty...weathered perfectly, his best yet? Rob Denton of RMLectronics back on top form, "Carrying on rewardless" as he so eloquently puts it. It was a great weekend made all the better for the attendance of you all.

After the Crystal Palace match, there is a help line for distraught Liverpool fans who might be in need of a bit of counselling. The number is 0800 3-0 3-1 3-2 3-3

This is a frightening statistic. 25% of women in this country are on medication for mental illness. That's scary! It means that 75% are running around untreated.

Breaking news...last minute deals in the football transfer window. Aston Villa have signed David Villa, Valencia have made a bid for Antonio Valencia, Rangers have picked up Nile Ranger ...and Spurs have signed Danny Shittu!

Totally agree, and I did think to mention the real place theme, but GB does have superb models of real buildings by Geoff Taylor and others. Both layouts are(going to be)great.

I think this could become as popular as The Gresley Beat. It certainly deserves to be. My hope is that you receive many invites from all over the country. Good luck at Barrow Hill.