Colin parks

Hi Andy, I have just read through your topic. Some very interesting work you are doing - especially of interest is the turning down of wheels. I had tried to make a mandrel for turning Hornby coach wheel flanges last week. This ended in failure. I can see now that the way to go is a bolt down a threaded hole to clamp the wheel tight, rather than a threaded spigot with a nut on the end, which was too weak. All the best, Colin

Hi Hayfield, Very nice point work! I have just read that you are going to construct a double slip with flat-bottom rail. Hopefully there will be some photos of its construction, as I am interested in seeing how the methods differ from working with bullhead rail and chairs. I have quite a stock of Peco Individulay 'Pandrol' base plates and slide plates. Would you say they are to be recommended? All the best, Colin

Hi clarkeeboy56, Just seen this topic and I must say those coaches of Roger's do look very convincing. In fact, the method used could be developed to make a 'quick' 3 SUB EMU. (But the I'm biased that way!) All the best, Colin

Now that is really nice Adam! Proper door springs and tie-bars too. There is a very good shot of one of these wagons Freshly painted in olive green taken at Hastings in 1977 on Paul Bartlett's website. All the best, Colin

Hi Adam, Your Pipe wagon look great! Love the tiny door catch chains. The chassis seems to have been extended, so perhaps i have missed a post which explains why this was done. I suspect you have extended a shorter wheelbase underframe in order to get the right W-irons. Am I close in thinking that?! All the best, Colin

Hi Adam, Always something of interest to look at here! Nice work on those bolsters, the chain effect is quite clever for such small links - I shall steal that idea one day. That suspended brake pipe is something unusual, on the model it looks commendably fine. Now, I must confess that the early Cambrian Gloucester bogies with the wonky axle bearing hole might have been my responsibilty -oops! (Mind you, it was nearly thirty years ago, but I seem to remember making an injection mould like that.) All the best, Colin

Hi Adam, I really ike the work you have done on that bolster wagon. The chain rings are quite remarkable details. All the best, Colin

Hi Mark, Super signal! Interesting that you have found yet another use for guitar strings. I would have guessed the operating wire (Q:does a guitar string become 'wire' when we cut it up for other purposes?!) to be even thinner than .012". Perhaps .016" would be better for the 'bounce' effect to work - they are a whole lot stiffer and yet still discrete enough not to spoil your lovely model. All the best, Colin

Hi Arpster, Well it has been worth the wait. These are some of the best model photos I have seen - especially that one of the lengthsman. Colin

Hi Dave, Impressive new pictures! I'm sure most of my family were patients in that hospital building at some point! The colour is bang-on for the walls. Have you turned the facade to face east?! All the best, Colin

For anyone thinking of re-numbering their Hornby 2 BIL (perish the thought!) it might be worth looking at this topic:http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67145-hybrid-2bilhal-combinations/&do=findComment&comment=920418 Colin

Hi SRman, Sounds like you have as much of the green paint as I have of 'Engineers' Olive', also mixed at the local decorating shop! The wiring arrangement looks neat, with plenty of scope for the interior lighting over the partitions. What will you use for the flash unit? Someone I spoke to last year (forgotten who!) proposed using a bright LED fitted facing downwards through the floor - don't know he ever succeeded. All the best, Colin

Hi SRman, Nice to see another Tin Hal up and running! I'd agree with you that glazing one of these models is easier with a flat material, but curved panes do look and fit better. For absolute madness, you could cut out each piece to have the fixed window panes fitting flush to the sides. The drop lights are set back further, so a bit less taxing. The green livery looks very smart. What make of paint did you use for the body colour? All the best, Colin

Hi Southernboy, I have looked at the recent photos again and again. Very atmospheric modelling! I am looking forward to following your topic on the 3 SUBs. All the best, Colin

Nice model FEP. In fact, the layout looks rather interesting too. Re. alcohol and blog entries, I wouldn't think that drink and P4 modelling went very well together either! All the best, Colin

Very nice Pete. I am glad you got it finished. It was certainly worth using the extra details to improve on what is a very good basic kit. All the best, Colin

Happy New year Great Northern! Fantastic photos of your layout 'in context'. One question: do you cover the layout with some form of dust protection sheets when not in use? I cannot being to think how long it would take to fill the layout with that much stock! All the best, Colin

Hi Adam, It is amazing to think you can do all the work seen here without magnification! Perhaps the Sludge wagon idea would be a bit off-beat considering the types you have built so far. Are you building a collection for a specific future layout or is it just the types that appeal? All the best, Colin

Hi Adam, Excellent wagons as always. The hand-lettering looks very convincing on the Shoc High. (Did you use visual aids for that?) It makes my Bachmann shock wagon look very 'out of the box'. What about a Sludge wagon next? All the best, Colin

Hi Kipford, Sorry I didn't see this post yesterday. Rather distracted by Hornby 2 BIL discussion! Re. the plan, that is certainly an interesting piece of work. I haven't looked at my copy of the original LB&SCR plan for a while, so it was a surprise to see how wide the site was. There was a remarkable amount of trackwork for the area and the running line is dead straight. It almost looks like a model railway! Given that you used an automatic coupling system, it would be entirely possible to operate a layout of this width - unless there was a derailment. It throws up the question though: How would the baseboards be designed? In a radical departure from conventional layout building, it looks as if seven 8' x 2' boards transversely arranged would be best in avoiding joints through pointwork. But what about that four-way point? Just imagine: the whole layout relies on that point functioning correctly. Rather you than me Kipford! Given that EMUs were stored in the tunnel during WWII, a point (no pun intended) could be stretched to model Kemptown with 3rd rail electrification. In fact a couple of 2 BILs wouldn't go amiss if you did! This reply is a bit off-topic, but we can all see now how you developed your ideas for Brighton East from Kemptown. All the best, Colin

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Hi Jon, I ha dbeen wondering what you were up to! The coach looks really good. I especially like the views of the interior through the carriage windows. Your card method looks very convincing. All the best, Colin

Hi Kipford, That is a mighty fine production of a buffer stop. There are some similar ones in Aberystwyth and they have some clamps on the rails behind the stops. I suppose these are a last line of defence if the stop is moved backwards. Thought I'd mention it as you are the sort of modeller who would include details like that. The station building and canopy are also so evocative of the Italianate style used by the LB&SCR. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have a copy of the track plan of Kemptown. They certainly squeezed a lot of track into a small space on the real thing! I must say that the EMUs at Brighton are a lot more colourful than when I was last there as a passenger in the mid-seventies. All the best, Colin

Thanks for your reply James. Missed the post again, so only just found it on page 4! All the best, Colin (Edit: Wells Green looks excellent in those images Andy Y's link.)

Hi Steve, I have just been looking through you recent pictures of the layout wiring. The complexity yet neatness is amazing! Seeing the photos of the wiring on the underside of that baseboard reminds me of a time when I was asked to judge a W.I. needlework competition (yes this is relevant!). Two of the pieces were of equal quality from the face side, so I thought: "lets have a look at the reverse side". The first prize went to the one whose work was was of the highest standard which ever way you looked at it. All the best, Colin