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Really interesting website, thanks. But he does have a couple of omissions that i've seen. No mention of GEM OO gauge track or Welkut. Probably more such as CCW for O gauge?

The depth stop idea could also be a useful addition to the NWSL one. I do find on occasion that the 'proper' ones can slip on occasion especially with long runs of cutting. Thinking Cap now securely applied to cranium.............

UNIQUE - possibly the least understood and most misused word in the English language.

'Ordinary' or High Wheeler' please! 'Penny Farthing' is a derogatory term shouted at riders by street urchins. I have a friend who only rides Ordinaries. To him, bicycle development ended on 31 December 1899. He's ridden them all over the world. Seeing him come down steep hills with his feet over the handlebars is not for the faint hearted! He (and his family) have been on the telly a couple of times in the recent past riding them (and other old bikes). I've ridden one a couple of times. Getting started is not that easy at first - but getting off (safely!) is worse! TBH, making one shouldn't be that difficult. They're a very simple machine. Wire for both frame and wheels should suffice and a suitable figure 'modified'. They are sized by the diameter of the front wheel which relates (more or less) to the rider's leg length and what he can readily reach from the saddle.

Knowing Roy they were probably put in that order quite deliberately. I'm not getting involved in this debate. Several of the contributors are aware of my predilections on this topic so I'm not sticking my head above the parapet! However, I do have a 2-6-0 (with a tender!) in my pile of projects and some sort of control for the pony truck may be on the cards.............

It was there in 1968, last time (and possibly only time) I went to Alton Towers. I was riding a closed circuit bike race around the grounds and I won - which is why I remember it well!

Welcome to Part 2. Been a bit busy today working on the chassis and its attachment to the body. I have had to cut away the Mainline fixing points to clear the etched chassis and so needed to make some alternative arrangements. At the rear I've gone for a 'tab' style fixing with a piece of 80 thou square styrene and at the front there is a block of styrene behind the buffer beam (which has now had a screw coupling added) to which the front chassis spacer screws with a small self-tapping screw. The powered fixed rear axle has had its split tube fastenings added, inside motion slide bars etc. have been soldered in and the central compensation beam installed temporarily to check clearances etc. Here can be seen the front and rear styrene fixing points. And with the chassis in position. The slots for the removable powered rear axle have been opened up to the diameter of an 1/8th inch axle bush. The brass tube solderd across the axle bush and sides of the slot, part cut through with a fine piercing saw. Here the tube is now in 3 sections with the retaining wires in position. Top view of the chassis with the slide bars (made from scrap etch from the sides of High Level chassis frets, perfect fit!) and the front compensation beam fitted. This is a beam from the original Mallard etch seen in the following photo with the hole cut out into a 'slot'. The underside of the chassis showing the beam on its pivot wire. the spacer tubes either side of the beam have been soldered to the beam which makes fitting much more simple. Next major job is cutting out the front and centre axle hornguide slots and working out how to fabricate an impression of the inside motion valve gear etc. I doubt if much of it will be seen TBH so the barest minimum will satisfy me!

For several (actually many!) years I have had in my stash of 'potential projects,' a Mainline Dean Goods loco body and tender top in BR black along with a set of etched nickel silver frames, coupling rods etc. of a suitable wheelbase. The frames are, I think, from Mallard, probably purchased at an Expo EM or similar out of a box of 'seconds'. They are 7'3" x 8'3" and GWR in outline so from one of their kits, quite possibly a Dean Goods itself. In my box of these DG bits were also a set of the correct size Sharman drivers and a set of Sharman tender wheels. Even though I have built many P4 locos over the past 40 years or so I have never built a tender loco so, as I am spending an appreciable amount of time modelling these days, I decided that I would dig this out as my next project. To fit the Mainline body I had to shorten the frames by a millimeter or two either end due to the thickness of the buffer beam etc. compared to an etched one. I also had to shorten the body attachment 'pillars' and, for the time being at least, remove the cast weight inside the boiler and firebox. This will have to be cut down to clear the motor. For the power, I have a High Level Loadhauler Compact 54:1 and a Mashima motor that will just fit into the firebox/boiler and tilt with its rear shaft cut down with the gearbox inverted so as the drive is beneath the axle. Whilst I was working all this out I realised that the basic chassis design for many of the 6 coupled GWR locos was very similar as I have a High Level Pannier chassis kit part built and also an unbuilt one in my 'stash'. Comparing this to the 'Mallard' one I found that I could transfer many of the positions of the fittings (brake hangers, spacers etc.) onto the Mallard chassis by fitting the Mallard chassis with a pair of 1/8th axle bushes, coating with black felt pen, positioning the HL frames over the Mallard ones using the bushes for location and scribing through the slots and holes. The HL chassis kits provide spacers etc. for all three 4mm gauges and, if for instance like me you build in P4, you end up with a selection of nicely etched surplus parts. I quickly realised that the EM spacers, when measured over their tabs for fitting into slots in the chassis side frames, are exactly right for my home-grown chassis constuction 'jigs' at 14.5mm. This meant that I could even go so far as to install a version of the HL inside valve gear with a few home-grown rods etc. Here are some shots of the progress so far in building. The basic parts. The cab unclips which makes life a lot easier. The tender frame I got from Peters Spares and the spacers are taken from the HL Pannier etch fret. Here the frame has been coated in black felt pen alongside the HL surplus EM spacers. The chassis part built using the surplus HL spacers with the motor and gearbox temporarily in approximate position. The frames are held in position for soldering using my home grown brass jigs which have served me well for many years and many locos. The HL Pannier part built chassis is alongside showing the similarities. I have had to cut down some of the HL spacers to fit the overall shorter Dean length and the fact that the Dean boiler is a larger diameter. On checking the Sharman wheels I realised that they are to EM/00 profile and so unsuitable for my needs. I am therefore ordering some 'proper' ones from Alan Gibson. For the tender chassis I will maybe try a weighted tender approach since I will be cutting down the cast boiler weight to clear the motor as mentioned above. I do have a Comet GWR tender chassis kit earmarked for a Comet chassised 43xx but, if I do take the weighted approach, I will scratchbuild a chassis instead allowing for either springing or an unweighted 'bogie' for the 2 front axles with a fixed one at the rear.

The bolt can be tight but, if it's the correct length (or possibly shouldered), the chassis can still be 'slightly loose'. By this I don't mean flopping about but just allowing 'room for expansion' or, more likely, 'slight flexibilty',

Cycle spokes generally used to be a choice of 14, 15, 16 or 17 gauge, often 'double butted' 14/16 for heavy use or 15/17 for lightness. I've got loads of odd 14/16 nickel plated ones, for a nice pair of race wheels, stainless 15/17 were the favourite.

I've had a NWSL for years - and I'm still using the original razor blade! I've got a pack of replacements just in case. I've found that after time the threaded inserts for the brackets to hold the angled stops in place can work loose and I have now Araldited them back in place. No idea what I paid for it but it won't have been anything like the price quoted above.

I've recently had a similar problem with an etched chassis of which I built 3. One had the axleguards really splayed when I looked at it again (using Colin Waite etched units) and it appeared that the hole inside the bearings was very shallow compared to the ones on the other 2 chassis. I removed the bearings, held them in a pinchuck and drilled into them with a 0.7mm drill (or thereabouts, not critical) in another pinchuck for 1mm or so and refitted them. The axles then fitted perfectly with no splaying. I've got bags of assorted pin point bearings from all sorts of sources and its a process of trial and error with these and the wheels I intend using to get a perfect fit.

Frames/chassis do not need to be fastened tight. 'Adequately secure' is more than sufficient and 'slightly loose' can still work OK. The body ain't going to fall off in service.

Reminds me of a college mate who had a Vitesse in the late 60's. Straight 6 engine in what was basically a Triumph Herald. No room in the back (but we often managed 3) and the exhaust sound! I have feeling he may have had a non-standard 'big bore' one but it was magnificent. Good performance for the day but your average family saloon these days would easily see it off. Not only in speed but in handling. He swopped it for a MGC - the proper straight 6 one. It got into an argument with a tree - and came off second best.............. He's OK though!

But that's 2-rail Tony! John Taylor operates a 'proper' 3-rail HD version of 'Minories'. Very little 'scenery' apart from the basic requirements using HD buildings wherever possible and a very intensive service.

Many years ago I bought some clock oil and clock grease from Shesto at a Scaleforum at City University (that shows how long ago it was!). Being wary of potential damage to plastic parts due to probable mineral oil content I've only used them with metal components (eg Branchlines gearboxes) and, as others have stated, I use LaBelle oils for all lubing that involves any plastic content.

I have - from a train, a 'heritage' DMU. A quite busy road I seem to remember and, in some ways, rather embarrassing seeing the staff having/trying to stop traffic. It was the first train on the day (possibly the week) and there were several branches across the line in places due to bad weather over the weekend.

Guess who's got a Kitmaster '08' already built.................................. I used a Crownline chassis to go under my extensively 'improved' Lima 08 and it went together quite well. A good alternative to the Impetus one if you can find one.

Found it in my copy of his 'Miniature Landscape Modelling' page 15. However, he says it is a method advised by 'George' Allen,(possibly 'John' the US modeller of Gorre and Daphetid layout fame?) and JH reckons it 'sounds good'. Six parts of shredded asbestos to one part of sodium silicate mixed with water. Mr Allen claims it will not crack or shrink! What it might eventually do to you is not stated.................. My copy of the book is 5th impression 1973 so between then and 1976 the potential dangers of asbestos must have become more widely appreciated.

When you say 'Wrenn' do you mean the ex-Hornby Dublo Wrenn (ie locos, rolling stock but using possibly Peco track) or a layout built using Wrenn track? Like this? If it was Wrenn track throughout I'd like to know how he wired it as there seems not to be any attempt at insulating gaps etc. etc. meaning the user had to work it all out him/her self. At the time this was on the market, as a young lad, I wouldn't have had a clue and would probably have given up and taken up stamp collecting!

To me, 'old fashioned' means Peco/Wrenn/Gem/Welkut fibre based track, cork granule ballast (if any ballast at all!), H&M Powermaster controller, dyed sawdust scenery, Bilteezi buildings, Seccotine glue, proprietary and whitemetal kitbuilt locos and stock - and probably quite a bit of frustration getting anything to run well. It was possible but I reckon a lot of people - especially youngsters - readily gave it all up when they discovered 'other things' in life.

I use Powerflo (thinned with water as Derek Mundy suggests and applied with a piece of wire or cocktail stick) and 145 solder with my temperature controlled iron set quite high. Cleanliness of the surfaces to be soldered is a major factor in achieving good results.

It's in an early edition of his 'scenery' book. I'll try and look it out tomorrow.

John Ahern suggests using asbestos for scenery construction in one of his books.

My 0-4-2 GWR 14xx (K's kit basis body, my chassis!)) chassis that I built approx. 45 years ago still runs with a DS10/Romford gear drive on the front fixed axle and a central beam between the rear drivers and the trailing wheels. I can't see any wear and the weight distribution with the rear wheels being supported on the beam pivot (central between the pairs of wheels) is OK. When I first built it it was in OO and quite avant garde. Very soon, using the same chassis, it was converted to P4 using Sharman wheels and washers and has performed on several layouts over the years. I've kept the DS10/Romford gearing as it runs very smoothly and as a 'mainline' loco rather than a 'shunter' its speed is quite acceptable.