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Its lovely to see these photos again Tony, but I'm not sure when I changed my name.... ;-) Andy G Edit: I'm always amazed that my efforts are so well received and put up on here with much better modelling than mine. The Top Caley tankie was built from an old SEF kit, it sits on a much modified Triang 0-6-0 chassis, profiled to look like real frames. The leading axle is sprung. The drive train is somewhat modified, it has a Mashima can and flywheel, driving via a Branchlines slim two stage 50:1 gearbox onto the rear axle (after the chassis block had been drilled and filed to allow the gearbox to fit). Before you ask, yes the original LMS Tankie had its number split like that around the tank footstep, and was a nightmare to reproduce! The middle Highland Struan Banker is made up from a Sutherland models kit (with is now in the Nu-cast Partners fold, you have to ask for it, and take a chance on the castings, but I've had a couple that way and they are still very buildable). This one has a Hornby T9 bogie at the rear, with side control added, but needs a bit more side play as it didn't like Tony's end corners! It has a bog standard Triang chassis, fitted with romfords, but still driven by an XO4, but runs nicely. The chassis is due to be upgraded like the Caley, when I get my lathe home so I can mill on it. This is the first attempt of mine with a bow pen which I think has come out quite well. The bottom is a proper Castle (not one of those soft southern all blingy GW ones) of the Highland Railway. This was an Ebay purchase, but needed quite a bit of body work to be done. Its a DJH kit. The chassis has a DJH motor and gearbox combo in it. The tender was the worse part, its bogie arrangement is very poorly designed, effectively just two small pins that the bogies sit on, which makes the tender body wobble all over the place. I fixed this by supergluing the leading bogie so that it is fixed to the pillar, I just allow the rear one to swing. I've also modified the fixed bogie to be insulated from the body so that it can be used for pickups on the other side to the rear bogie. My painting again, I just wish I could get some Castle name transfers made up....

Again this is the problem of being a HR man. They ran a lot of lines like this, but whether the English lines in pre-grouping days did I don't know. Is there any Brighton branchline that resembles a layout as simple as this, that could point the way forward? Or does it really matter anyway? I agree that two engines are always more fun than one, but it does move it away from a railway though doesn't it? I once went to an exhibition where there was a BLT at the end of a single line. The station wasn't much more than this one, the yard was quite small, but there was a two road engine shed with a stud of big 4-6-0 tender engines... Andy G

Be careful about adding a signalbox, as I'm not sure you actually need one. You need to ask yourself the question: What is the traffic pattern? I'm guessing that its actually quite low (although in modelling terms it will be a lot busier, you don't want to run two trains in a day do you?), which means that it would probably be run with a train staff. With this you effectively have a basic railway, no signalling being required (apart from the junction end). The run round point at the entrance to the station would be worked from a ground frame, normally set to the platform road (and locked with a facing point lock, the points at the other end could be hand points, as they are trailing, they don't need to be locked as the train can push them over. The loop would have a trap that co-worked with the main point). The frame would be unlocked by inserting the train staff into an Annetts lock on the 1st lever (the staff having an Annett's key on its end), turning it and then that will unlock the frame to allow you to shunt. This then locks the key into the frame until all the levers are returned to normal, when the key can be rotated to lock the frame and then be withdrawn. This means that before the train leaves (it must have the staff to move out of 'station limits') that the points will have to be set back for the platform road. At most you need a small hut around the frame, but more likely the frame will be stood in the open. A good example is Dornoch on the Highland*, that has the fun of interesting trapping on the goods road though! (credit to the watermark, lifted from another RM Web posting) Note that the facing points (here for the engine shed and yard) have facing point locks as well (2 rods). It looks like there are three levers, possibly one for each point and one for the facing point locks. Note also that the point outside the shed is lever operated, it co-works with the facing point on the main (the one the photographer is stood in) and works as the trap point, it facing the coal spur when the main line is set for the station. The yard/loop facing point co-works with that tangle of traps in the yard entrance... The points at the other end of the platform were hand operated locally, being trailing to the incoming move. Hopefully this helps a bit? Andy G Edit: Dornoch was a light railway, but built to the normal HR terminus style. Those that were not light railways did have signalling and a cabin, but these were often (usually?) locked out and staff working was used as an economy measure.

Yes, and I remember having to nurse her home. She just wouldn't idle. Turns out that a bit of plasticard (20thou for those that need to know!) that I had used to shim the K&N filter (for a CAT diesel excavator) inside the original filter housing, had finally given up. It had passed through the filter and had wedged itself into the mouth of the Carb, holding the dashpot (and needle) up... Its since been replaced with some rubber sheet, which has lasted a lot longer... The K&N filter is a worth while mod, saves the waste of the paper filters, and gives a tiny power increase, yet looks bog standard (well apart from the fact that I removed the inlet pipe from the filter housing and opened the hole up as large as I could.... Andy G

Is the cut beam actually holding up the first two locos over that river? Andy G

I would think that Ray Newell must be close to 50 years now, but there can't be many that have continuous membership these days as lots of people seem to come and go. I almost made an MOT once, but failed as the saloon that was going to be the drive fall apart not long beforehand, with no time to weld her up. Being on shift is a real pain as getting time off is tricky to plan a year in advance, and I've missed most rallies in the last ten years... Annoyingly I I was too late to book the MOT that went to the Loire region of France... The outlaws lived just round the corner from the campsite, so we would have killed two birds with one stone... Andy G

Is it? I've not unwrapped it yet.... Whats the next milestone they give you something for? Andy G

Time is a strange thing, when you are young a day takes what seems like years to pass, and then at some time in your 30's suddenly a day is over in a blink of an eye. The day I turned forty I got out of bed with aches and pains in my joints that I hadn't had the day before.... My body feels older than it ever has done, but I still feel mentally about 15 or 16, and find it odd that I'm treated as an experienced man with integrity, and am often the go to person for issues, but yet I'm still learning to do things that I haven't done before. I find it all very perplexing! It was brought home on Monday when I got a certificate and enamel badge for being a continuous member of the Morris Minor Owners Club for the last 25 years! I've run minors as daily drivers for all that time, and I can't quite believe it. As for building stuff, when I actually do something model wise, I do it inbetween trains up in the signalbox. The breaks I have to have for dealing with the trains are invaluable for getting away from the model and allowing some thinking space, allowing progress to be made (or damn annoying as you are halfway doing something and have to stop!). Andy G

I was thinking more of leaving the existing platform where it is, but just making it longer towards the gates, but making it a bit longer at the same time as moving it towards the gates, so that part of the loop is out with the platform, would work too. Yes the HR gave your CME a good grounding in how to overcome problems..... I can only apologise for the lack of update on my threads, I've sort of lost the mojo over the last few years, but I'm hoping that it will return soon. Andy G

To run round your three coaches you need more length, as they are foul of the loop road. Is there a reason to only have the platform in the space betwix the points of the run-round? You could happily take the platform upto the crossing gate end of the h/shunt, and it wouldn't look wrong, in fact it would possibly be better as often small stations had silly sized platforms (but I'm not sure what the Brighton Road tended to do for small stations, I'm a bit more northern in taste!). Its looking quite interesting, whats the thought for the fiddle yard? Andy G

One of these vehicles appears in the BTF film 'Cyclist's Special'. It shows a clip of some passengers sat at a table, which I presume is in the conversion as it has melamine table tops. Its a good watch anyway! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPkT0paGEnQ Andy G Edit: I'm sure there was an outside image of the car, but it doesn't appear so, but there's lots of shots of the inside... Now what film showed the outside of one?

SWMBO was given a modern plastic whistle when she arrived at her present school. I've got an ARP Acme (the long thin Policemans style one) which I suggested that she used instead, as it gives a completely different tone, so making hers distinctive. She pooh-poohed the idea. Interestingly, at my primary school, one of the teachers had Policemans whistle too, I wonder now if hers was an ex-ARP one too. Canes were still legal when I went to school... although I never saw one, but have seen black-board dusters (the wooden backed ones) fly across a classroom... Andy G

This looks like 'Estrella' built by Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth and Co for São Paulo Railway company, Heres the page on Derby Sulzers about them: https://www.derbysulzers.com/brazil.html Remarkably the power car might still be there! Andy G

Glad you got to the bottom of the issue... so it wasn't the wrong type of snow then.... ;-) Andy G

Branchlines do a nice etched chassis kit for the k's (and Dapol) terrier and can supply all the other bits you need. I know you have to phone and speak to Brian, but its worth it! Andy G

CWA is Carriage Warming Apparatus. Andy G

That APOC tank wagon also looks wet too. If it looks wet on the backscene, how do you treat rolling stock so that looks wet too? Andy G

I was thinking more about having the brakesman walking alongside the wagon.... Andy G

I love the way they 'bounce' the empty off the tippler, I bet it took the lad with the brakestick a bit of time to get used to the jolt! Sadly not really something that could be replicated in miniature. Andy G

Interestingly the tri-ang chassis is capable of being upgraded quite easily. Romfords and either a 5 pole X04 or open out the chassis slot and use a gearbox and can motor (which will pull the motor magnet out of the cab). The Lima cylinders and valve gear can be used (use romford cranckpin washers to pack the holes on the Lima con-rods) but you have to be creative with plasticard to get the cylinders to sit at the correct angle. A bit of work, but quite do-able. Andy G

I'm glad that it wasn't binned, its a lovely little bit of modelling history. There can't be many models that are 70 odd years old and still looking so good. This sort of stuff really appeals to me, and I often take pity on this sort of thing (I've a hideously heavy scratchbuilt LNWR cove roofed brake 3rd in brass made by Frank Roomes, that came to me in a box of bits when he died, that I have made a runner again, that must be 50 years old I guess). Andy G

I think Professional occupations are defined by those that you can use to act as witnesses for things like Passport applications... Presumably they are thought of as being upstanding members of society still, which presumably means that it is the old Middleclass occupations that qualify? Sadly as a Signalman and Parish Councillor, it appears that I am still working class and below being upstanding (so downstanding?). But I have to defer to the wife, who as a teacher is more upstanding than me. I know my place. Andy G

Looking at his output it seems that they have just had the flange profile turned down... something that you could do with a file while the motor bogie is running from flying leads... Some of the non-knurled wheels look like they have been very lightly skimmed in a lathe, not removing all of the knurl. Better to find a modern coach wheel that you can doctor to fit the axle, then it will be a much better runner. Also pushing the normal Triang wheels out on their axle to get a modern back-to-back helps them through modern pointwork too. Andy G

The only part of the SEF kit that is poor is the front footplate above the bufferbeam... Its build up in the middle to supply a body fixing place to the tri-ang chassis, It could be cut out and lowered with the fixing moved with a bit of thought... If using the tri-ang chassis you can use the LIma cylinders... Andy G

Theres length, cab, tanks etc, but it is possible to make a very good look-a-likey from an M7.... Andy G