Portchullin Tatty

I would have thought that the use of a rubber tube to turn the angle of the drive shaft a touch adds a dollop of resistance? Have a look at the CLAG website for their technique of introducing a ball-bearing in the tube to give it some flex points. http://www.clag.org.uk/silicone-tube.html Also, have a look at the High Level site - http://chrisgibbon.com/webftp/Pages/ - for a whole range of gearbox/motor options that should not need to take up the cab. These go together very simply and run smoothly all the time. A trick I have learnt is go for the "+" versions (they have an additiona final drive that can be rotated). These have grub screw secured final gear wheels and thus are a little easier during the construction mode as you can get them on and off. good luck.

aghh, beginning to look like a railway and it has a nice feel of space!

Looking grand Robin. John, I don't think you are supposed to dip the wheels in the sea?????

Wonderfully charismatic Andrew!

Hi Knuckles, I have just given a couple of my tips on the Scalefour forum.

Looking forward to seeing the layout at Nottingham, for a scottish fest! I take it that the distillery does do off sales? Slainte!

I did mine in green, I reckon it was the right answer. Mind you, that only means we ahve both got it right or wrong! The turfs were laid over and an around the barrels, but were likely to be then obscured by a tarp. I rather hanker to do do one without a tarp, so that people can tell me I have done soemthing silly for carrying grass around..........

Well, I am safely north of the border ready for Model Rail. A reminder that Friday or Saturday are the days you want if you like the dirty blue boxes (!!!), like this: or Sunday if you like green or red kettles like this: both photos with thinks to Dave Keeler and also thanks to Simon de Souza for the medium goods................first time one of those has made it onto RMweb? Look forward to seeing you all - happy to answer questions by the way (on boxes or kettles!), the lighting pelmet does slightly obsure the operators but we are all here!!

Life is too short for this, big time! As Captain K has said, it is a fallacy to beleive that the prototype was super exact. Maybe on much of it on a high speed line (for its day) but elsewhere things were more liberally interpreted. If you think about it, this stands to reason as getting everything in close tolerance takes time, effort and money. The railways were a commercial venture and thus they only did this where it is necessary. All railway modelling is about comprimise; for starters we (in the 4mm world, adjust to suit for other scales) only build our stuff at 1/76th of the size and we shove an electric engine in rather than stoke up a fire. The whole point with modelling in P4 is that the person doing it has decided that two comprimises - the gauge between the rails & the wheel profile - is not acceptable to them and they are therefore going to do somethign about it. Whilst this does create a number of elements flowing from it, largely about how the track is built and how the wheel interfaces with the rail, from then on the decisions as to what to model and to what standard are for the individual. If you have a hunt through the Scalefour website, you will find that there is P4 "connie" thread (ie the Triang childs starter loco from the 1960's) and I have seen both a P4 Thomas and Duck. They are no less P4 because they happen to be from the Reverand Awdry series! Once have a feel for how P4 works and, particularly, where the important dimensions are, it is about find the level of standard of modelling you want to model at and what bits you think are important. Some do like to get things really spot on, others take a more impressionist stance to what it is they are seeking to achieve. Whilst it may be true that the decision not to accept the comprimise of 16.5mm gauge means that most P4 modellers wish to push their general standard of modelling on a bit, it is not a prerequisit. So, the classic line of modellers - "its your trainset, do with it what you will" applies!

Getting a curve really consistant can be a slight problem, as it is not tht easy to do it by eye. If you are worried, once you have built a bit of track, place a sheet of paper over it and rub a soft pencil along the rail edge (a bit like a brass rubbing - remember them as kids?). Use this to create a template by cutting along the lines. Then move this through the curve and you will pick up where the curve is too much or too little. One of the great advantages of handbuilt track is that it flows, as did the prototype. Thus, you do not need to be particularly precious about the exact curves on things. You are more worried about making sure you do not accidently have tight spots that are tighter than the radius your stock will go around. Similarly the prototype was not that consistant with sleeper spacings. The manuals and text books may have given standards but things were a bit more liberally interpreted on the ground and these things moved, either from tamping machines or the efforts of the maintenance gangs. The advice about Rice's book is valid too - it is well worth a read even if it mostly deals with ply & rivet trackwork when it comes to the model track. What it says about the prototype is valid for whatever system you use.

I look forward to saying hello and thanks (both to Mark and the other posters) for your comments. Portchullin's next stop after Watford and Glasgow will be Nottingham (http://www.rmweb.co....__fromsearch__1), after which I have a rest planned for a few months..........!!! Maybe my daydreaming will interupt the rest though, I do have a hankering for a new one..............

Gary, I notice you are going to Nottingham, so I look forward to seeing this Glenuig in the flesh.................!

Looking good Tim and you can see the quality of the model being lifted palpably! There is a rather fine video in the British Transport Film Unit series on the electricfying of the north of Crewe section of the WCML. A good chunk of this is on the building of the class 87's and you get to see them as a pile of bits and then the slowly emerging locos. Interesting in its own right, but you may find some of the detail that you can see worthwhile. PM me if you want to borrow.........

I did not know that! They occassionally used Saxby & Farmer equipment too (Kyle for example was all Saxby) but as far as I know they did not use any Saxby type boxes.

Yes, I should be able to do that. I do not own one (well not one that has made it out of a box of parts!) but I beleive there will be two loaned to me at Glasgow, so I shall make sure the camera is out. Keep you eye on the thread in a few of weeks time. Especially if it provokes you into building a Highland layout!!!

and me! I am feeling guilty just reading this.................

A little over a week to go to Watford, so a couple of pictures to remind myself (they layout is not generally put up at home - it is too big!) of what it looks like (photos with thanks to Andy Y & Philip Hall): And also a reminder that on Sunday 26 Feb at Glasgow, we are going to go Highland for the day. So the blue boxes (!) will be put away for the day and things will look a little more like this: I have been kindly offered the loan of a couple of people's locos for the day. The present expected count of Highland locos is 15 and there is the prospect of one or two more. This is undoubtedly going to be the largest gathering of Highland locos in P4 ever and might well be the largest gathering in any scale or gauge. So if you want to see Straths, lochs, bens, yankee tanks, banking tanks, a jones goods, clans, superheated goods, medium goods, barneys and the like, best get to Glasgow on the Sunday!

Sorry if I was writing jibberish - I will expand........... The Highland Railway tended to purchase their boxes and indeed the rest of their signal equipment from the Worcester based firm of McKenzie & Holland. So typically their boxes looked like this one at Achnasheen http://www.signalbox...nasheenwest.php. However, they occassionally went to Duttons who had quite different windows and they looked like this one at Rogart http://www.signalbox...rogartsouth.php or this one at Georgemas Jct http://www.signalbox...gemasnorth.php. The latter looks quite like yours on page 4 of this thread?

Here are a couple of Highland boxes; both of the McKenzie & Holland form (Gravy Train did not mention it, but I think there was a Highland box earlier but this was built by Duttons instead?). Firstly is the east box: And then the rather more camera shy west box: Neither model by me I am afraid, they were built by Peter Bond and if one of the well known magazines actually get around to printing it, you will find a great feature on making a bigger version of these published soon. He is very talented as these pictures show these boxes bigger than they actually are! The Highland is quoted as having standard box designs. Actually this seems not to be really true, although they did have a strong family likeness. These are the north and south boxes from Killiecrankie - but mirror inverted.

Hi Jon and others, I can't post pictures on someone else's blog, but if you look at the final photograph of post no 42 of http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/17602-a-highland-miscellany/page__st__25, you will see my version of this TOU. The concept is that the rail that you have used Jon is a little longer, so it sticks out beyond the stockrail (the main running line). It is also snugly tight to this and, therefore, the switch rail is kept at the appropriate height relative to the stockrail at all times. On an exactoscale turnout, this is probably not a problem anyway, but it can be where the switch assembly is made up from scratch. Apologies Jon if this is what you have done, it is not that easy to photograph or read photogrpahs of these as they are by definition hidden! I think you may be right that the switch throw is a little tight - you will probably want to open this a little.

Jon, One look out on the Bachy 47's. I understand that on some of the bogies the centre axle is a smidgeon lower than the two outer axles so it is a little inclined to rock. I have seen a number of converted 47's, so this clearly can not apply to all but there have been complaints. Check very carefully with a straight edge and if you are not certain, bag some replacement bogies?

I am taking the view that Watford is an hour closer to Glasgow than home.................so the journey north starts on the Sunday night!

Say hello at Nottingham when you see me and we will see what I have brought..............

Portchullin's next few outings are as follows: Watford Finescale - 18 & 19 February http://www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/Watford_exhibition.html Model Rail Scotland - 24, 25 & 26 February http://www.modelrail-scotland.co.uk/ Nottingham - 17 & 18 March http://www.nottingham-modelrailway.org.uk/exhibmain1.htm#this On the Sunday at Glasgow we aim to backdate the layout to the 1920's. So if you want to see some clans, lochs, barneys or straths, you may want to head in that day. If you also want to see it in its 1974 garb, you had best come two days!! As always, if there are any RMwebbers there do feel free to say hello!

Try this one - it comes in other thicknesses. Lining in gold - 20 Fine lines, 298mm x 0.5mm Code: FG1391 Scale: ANY