L49

And that is the difference between a rectory and a Methodist manse!!

If anyone wants to go a bit further into the debates surrounding cable vs horse vs locomotive haulage, then a google books search in the 'Civil Engineers and Architects Journal' may prove fruitful. I was looking for details of the London and Blackwall, an extensive description of which appeared somewhere in 1848 or thereabouts, but on the periphery of the search I found loads of correspondence from 1839 debating the relative merits or otherwise of different forms of traction. We think that political rhetoric and spin are bad these days, but just look at the character assassination performed by one anonymous writer on George Stephenson and George Parker Bidder in the middle of this whole argument. If I can find the pages again, I'll put some links into the thread... edited to add. Unusually in this, the Stephensons are being vilified for their stalwart support of cable haulage through the docks. It appears the anonymous 'Old Engineer' was in favour of locomotive traction!

Hi folks, Feeling inspired by reading through this thread and others on the pre-grouping section, I decided to get back to doing some 3d printing artwork, and came up with this little beauty. I think at 1849 she might be a bit modern here, although she was built to replace the most Georgian and Williamine traction methods of cable haulage. I'm in the process of making the mesh ready for shapeways if anyone fancies one.

Hi folks, I have been watching this thread with fascination for a while, and I'm really impressed with the way the project is going. I just wanted to add a bit about the motion and slidebars on Derwent. I would say that WSF is actually a pretty good material for this, even if it does need a bit of smoothing. When I drew up my Met A class kit, I had to print the slide bars as one with the cylinders and frames, as those four bar Beyer Peacock style slides are a pain to make any other way. Even the Ks and later IKB version of the A class had them cast. I got around the issue by designing a crosshead which could be printed in brass, and was a little undersized, especially by modern standards and model tolerances. This was pinned to the connecting rod with handrail wire. The other end, where the piston rod should come out, was filed flush, as I figured that it was all but invisible within the four slide bars anyway. To my surprise, it actually worked first time! I have since used the same principle with the NLR outside cylinder 440, and a similar principle, albeit rather more complicated, for the large Tilbury 442. Hope this might be of help, and reduce any anxiety...

I have taken to using Humbrol 28 as a base mortar colour, before working over it in various shades of yellow ochre, brown and blue-black colouring pencil before dry brushing with Humbrol 29 and airbrushing to finish. It sounds like a lot of work (actually it is!) but the effect is worth it. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122189-yellow-brickwork/&do=findComment&comment=2700179 Have a look at this link to another similar question, with a fuller answer at post 12. Sorry I am having to be brief. I need to get out to take the evening service at Haynes tonight. Charlie

You should have seen Charlie Browns before it was tarted up and turned into flats: Fantastic building, and just one of many on that side of town. There was a gorgeous 7mm scale model of 'Farmers' in the high street which was on a layout on the exhibition circuit a while ago, although I haven't seen it for a while. You could also model the Siege house including all the red-ringed bullet holes!

Well I was going to put a painting of mine in, but then they told me that I would have to consider selling it! As it is the only painting I have ever done that I am really happy with, I decided against it, so it is back in my study.

We've had to make a few amendments to the layout of the show, but we think this is now the final plan. It should be fairly obvious from the list of exhibitors; green are layouts, yellow are displays and blue are traders. I think the rest is self explanatory. (edited to show the right final show plan!)

A Couple of photos have just resurfaced of the Leyton machine. The top one was on the mantlepiece in my grandparents house when I was growing up. Grandad is standing in the cab, and his colleague Ben (Don't know his surname) is sitting on the baulk. The other one was found by one of my Dad's cousins, who couldn't remember why he had been given it 50 odd years ago. It's pretty knackered, but I think iit has Grandad leaning out of the window of the far cab. There are a few nice modelling details here, and I have to confess that I bought an Oxford Warwell at The Great Electric Train Show last weekend specifically to goad me into getting on with my conversion.

Just been working on the exhibition plan. Here's a sneak preview... The stand numbers and names are below 1 Liddle Town 2 Rue Sidi Brahim 3 Southdale 4 Bryans End 5 Addison Yard 6 Rowell Sidings 7 Ashfield 8 LCGB 9 Bedford Bletchley 10 B&D scale model club 11 Demonstration 12 Meccano/Lego 13 Elmwood Yard 14 John Dutfield Model Railways 15 Little Layout Co. 16 Broad Gate 17 K&DMRC stand 18 Demonstration 19 Bedford Midland Shed 20 Model World 21 Marston Vale 22 Hall Lane 23 Model roads and Tramways 24 Tove Valley 25 The 00 Gauge association 26 The North London Rly HIstorical Society 27 Keith's Model Railways 28 Koln Westbanhof 29 Lazy River 30 Eastchurch 31 Children's layout

Now that's what I call cunning... I like this idea, and it seems to have worked perfectly.

I would recommend going for the 3d printed option, especially as you don't have to print in plastic. Shapeways ( and I'm sure others too!) will print in brass, with a minimum thickness of 0.8 x 0.8mm. Your 1.3mm square to scale will be well within the material tolerances, and if you have any fine detail to add in terms of fancy brackets, then you could have them etched. Here is the link to Shapeways material page for printing in brass https://www.shapeways.com/materials/brass and a link to the 4mm columns and brackets which I have designed for FUD, just to give an idea of the level of detail which is possible (I know this is 4mm not 2mm, but the process is the same) https://www.shapeways.com/product/ZJC4X9EWJ/8-00-scale-ger-canopy-support-columns?optionId=42699924 Hope this might help...

Just a quick heads up for anyone in the Bedford area on the 4th November (Saturday). Kempston Model Railway club will be holding their bi-annual exhibition at Kempston East Methodist Church, Bedford Road, Kempston. This year will see the biggest show so far in terms of floor space and exhibitors. Here is the list of layouts, displays and traders confirmed so far... Layouts/Displays “Addison Yard” Bedford U3A. OO Koln Westbahnhoff Ann & Brian Silby “Never been named”. Dave Pitcher. “Eastchurch”. OO “Tove Valley”. Gordon Kettell. “Hall Lane”. Mike Kettell. “Lazy River”. Robin Edwards “Rowell Sidings”. Peter Dines. OO “Rue Sidi Brahim”. Charlie Connor HO “Liddell Town”. Dave Smith. “Bryans End”. Brian Woodcock. OO “Ashfield “. St Neots MRC. OO “Southdale”. OO. K&DMRS “Bedford Shed”. OO. K&DMRS “Juniors Layout”. OO. K&DMRS “TEST TRACK”. MULTI. K&DMRS “Ridgmont”. N. K&DMRS Les Williams The 00 Gauge Assocciation The North London Railway Historical Society Bedford & District Scale Model Club TRADERS LCGB Models, Roads & Trams. Mervyn Askew Little Layout Company Model World. Mike Oxley Keith’s Model Railways John Dutfield Model Railways I will post more details and news closer to the time. Look forward to seeing you there.

I have toyed with the idea of modelling 3' gauge myself, and because I was not feeling very confident at chassis building, I decided that 1:100 was the way to go. Having said that, because it was an odd scale, the enthusiasm waned a bit, and the freelance micro layout we were building is now gathering dust in my son's room. I still think that 1:100 is an interesting scale, and is actually extremely well catered for by the architectural modelling market.

Ok, Having spent a bit of time working on the Sprague Motrice, I thought it might be worth putting a few new photos of the layout up on RMweb. I have to admit that very little has been done scenically since the last set of photos were posted, in fact, living as it now does in my study, Sidi has had a few knocks which I need to deal with before it goes out to the Kempston show in November, including re-roofing the flats which hide the fiddle yard as someone (probably me!) put a cup of tea down on them at some point, so they now have a mug ring on the roof! Therefore all the phots can really show is some new motive power which has arrived over the last couple of months. The 050TB is the Fleischmann model, brought from ebay and SNCF-fed. This included reprofiling and re-skinning the cab roof, and trying out a 3d printed smokebox door. The latter was not entirely successful, but now I have got more used to the printer, I think I can get a better result. I have the artwork done to have the SNCF roundel etched, but I haven't got around to filling up the rest of the sheet and sending it off yet! Here she is sitting in the headshunt, viewed from the street. The other thing which is on the etch sheet is a new set of railings to replace the card ones which were cut on the silhouette, and haven't stood the test of time very well! Now a couple of views from the roof of the flats, firstly running light on the main line, then seen hauling the match wagon and the Sprague car, on it's first move not under finger power! The other new addition, also from Ebay is the 141P. This is way too big for the layout, but she was a bargain, and a gorgeous prototype, so I couldn't resist. These are just a few views of the gorgeous beast around the platform end. As bought, someone had tried a repaint, possibly with a 3" decorating brush, which had given her quite a texture! It took quite a few attacks of model strip to get it all off, then she was resprayed into plain black. This is as far as the repaint has got so far. Number plates for all the fleet are on the same etch as the railings and the SNCF roundels, so I really ought to get the bl**dy thing sent off! Finally, moving closer to completion, is the Sprague Motrice. All the underfloor bits were 3d printed, and it runs quite smoothly. The roof is plasticard with microstrip for the ribbing. Since these were taken this evening, I have painted the roof, so it no longer stands out quite so much. I hope you have enjoyed this little update, and I will post more as the work progresses. Bonne Nuit! Charlie

I thought I'd give the layout topic a little bump, as it has been a long time since any work has been recorded. However, I thought the new vehicle I have been building might be of interest. Have a look at the full thread in the kitbuiding and scratchbuiding section http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/125057-sprague-motrice-heading-for-the-scrapyard/ Edit: PS, before anybody says... I know I haven't done the door rubbers yet. I'm getting myself psyched up for them, 'cos I think they're going to be a pain!

Good evening all, It has been ages since I posted anything on RM web, largely because it has been ages since I have done any modelling worthy of posting. However, I thought my latest little project might be worthy... So to begin with, what do you get when you mix a sheet of brass with a sheet of printed vinyl??? The answer is, the basis for a little experiment in electro etching. This is a technique which I found completely by accident being referred to here on RM web. I did a bit of digging, and Tommy and I decided that it was worth giving it a go. The principle is quite simple. Print out your etch artwork on self adhesive vinyl, then stick it to the brass, and cut out the white bits. The instructions I found online only showed the process being used for a single sided etch, but I decided that if I was going to give it a go, I'd got he whole hog and do a double sided, with half etching front and back. The next part of the process involves tap water and quite a lot of table salt. Once the solution is mixed, place the vinyl covered brass sheet in the bowl. For this one, I soldered a length of wire to the corner of the sheet. If I do this again, I think I will solder the wire closer to the centre in future. The joint is covered with more vinyl. This wire should be connected to the positive terminal of the 12v DC outlet. Then you need to find something to use as another electrode. I found a fork in the study! Susie has just about forgiven me for the next bit; 'cos I wrapped the end of a piece of wire around it, clamped it on with a bulldog clip, and connected the whole lot up to the negative terminal on an old Mainline transformer. The instructions I found online told me that once power was applied, I'd see the metal I was etching start to bubble. It didn't, the fork did. So what did I do, I swapped the terminals over... Bad move! We sat and watched the bubbling sheet of brass for about four hours. It went all sorts of funny colours, but neither of us could perceive much etching going on. It was only when we got fed up and decided to give it all up as a bad job that I took the fork out of the saline bath. We hadn't etched any brass that day, but we'd done a pretty good job of stripping the plating off the fork, and even etching along the near edge of all the tines. It turns out that I had the terminals the right way round to start with, and that it is the anode which bubbles, not the cathode. The following morning we got back to it, and it worked Ok, although it etched far deeper at the edges of the sheet than in the middle, which is why I might try changing the position of the connection next time, also I might try setting it up in a metal dish and using the whole dish as the anode, as it definitely seemed to etch faster on the side which was nearer the fork! I'm afraid I didn't take any more progress shots at that point. I was so uncertain of the result, that I just got on with the model to see what might happen. As it was, with a bit of cleaning up, I had a passable one off etched brass kit, which I could solder up quite quickly. The trouble was that the etching on the bodysides was not very deep, so I beefed it up with some microstrip. At this point I was wondering why I hadn't just used plasticard from the start. It came out Ok, and got a couple of coats of paint. Then I was faced with a bit of a dilemma. These vehicles carried a quite ornate livery, which was rather unusually applied by enamelling the panels. I decided to go back to the vinyl again, this time printing the panels in colour complete with lining and II class insignia. As this car is for my Ceinture layout, it is only ever going to be dragged around, either being brought in from the SNCF, or being taken away for scrap. As such, I was going to go for a great dodge, and have the interior completely gutted. Unfortunately, I cannot find any reference for a Sprague car being gutted before being remove from the system. That mean I had to make seats, and lots of them. I did this once before in card, and I really didn't fancy doing it again, as it is fiddly, and awkward. Instead, I decided to have a play with the 3d printer which I have on loan from Baby Deltic of this parish. I drew up some simple seats with just enough detail to look good, while being solid enough to print on the DaVinci junior. I had also printed out some HO scale newspapers, which were then liberally strewn around the floor, as well as cracking a couple of the windows. Finally, this evening, I thought I'd have a go a printing the underfloor details. I had a bit of a play around with different ideas, and ways to make it strong but not use up too much material, and this is how it came out. I'm pretty happy with this at the moment. There are some bits which I would do differently, but as a guinea pig for lots of different techniques, I'm pretty proud of it! If anyone is around Bedford and Kempston on the 4th November, come along to the show at Kempston East Methodist church and hopefully you'll see it running!

From what Grandad related to me, they were actually (officially) single manned, although the photos of the Leyton tracklayer at Stoke Newington shows one driver in the leading cab, plus probably the supervisor and a fitter in the far cab. There is a wonderful bit of film in the BTF collection of the Leyton machine at work somewhere (I think) on the LTS, with Grandad in his best supervisory role, riding up and down sat on the deck of the compressor wagon! As for manufacturer, as far as I know they were all built in house. It seems that the LMR one was the earliest, and may just have been built by the LMS. There are some grotty photos of it at work by Watford tunnel which turned up online which claim to be taken in 1947. Early on, both this one and the SR one did not have an enclosed cab, but an open framework supporting the jibs. They must have been hellish to work! It looks like they were enclosed in the early 50s. The Leyton one might have been a later addition, as in 1951 Grandad had to travel to Newton Heath to collect it, and always reckoned it was brand new. Anyway, this is in danger of becoming a thread hijack, for which I apologise. Let's just hope that the drawings for all these machines turn up, as well as all the other oddments of early on-track plant. Edited to add: Sorry, I couldn't resist posting this link to the SR machine working in as built condition at Waterloo! Enjoy, especially the H&S aspect of the bloke guiding the panels into place by jumping off the platform and walking underneath each section holding onto a bit of rope!

Hi Beatty, I have been looking for details and drawings of the early track layers myself, as my Grandad was responsible for the Eastern region one when it was first brought into use until he got fed up with working every night and weekend, and opted for a job with Charringtons brewery instead. I've trawled through the online diagram books, as you have, and come up with nothing. I might be able to offer a bit of detail on the Southern one though, as the WR one was the odd one out of the four, the ER, SR, and LMR all being largely the same, although details differences in the donor wagons mean that each was technically unique. I believe they used a form of hydraulic winch which was housed in each cab. Photos of the three at work show them running with a converted bogie bolster which supported diesel powered compressors and other equipment which were connected to the tracklayer by flexible hoses. The jibs were manually wound out and secured before work started, the track centre being set by adjusting the jib length. It was impossible to move or alter the jibs during work. The counterweight on the two cab version was carried amidships, and this also had to be manually shifted to the appropriate side before work started. They were actually driven from one cab, each one having the ability to control the opposite end as well as itself, in that, the famous Cuneo poster was wrong, as it shows drivers in both ends. Grandad was not impressed, especially as he remembered Cuneo visiting Leyton yard to sketch and ask questions about the beast before going on to paint the picture. I'm aware that this is going a bit off topic, but I am quite excited in the hope that research for the WR vehicle might bring to light some more information on the ER one. See the link below for a lovely shot of our one in action at Stoke Newington. Unfortunately these were taken after Grandad was tempted away by the brewery, but it is a lovely sequence of pictures of his old machine. http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=Liverpool%20Street&objid=1995-7233_LIVST_EL_256 Good luck, and if I find anything relevant in my researches, I'll post it here. Charlie

Maybe this is a new 'Pirate' model... Aaaaaaaarrgh!

I have done side winding rerailing jacks on my 3d printed Tilbury tank. I could always put them on shapeways as a stand alone part if that would be of any use. The Gem ones seem more like fixed jacks for doing a maintenance lift rather than the type which locos tended to carry on the bufferbeam.

Ok, scrub that last problem. I have just located the hidden screw in the centre of the pick-up bogie which didn't seem to appear on the diagram! No harm done, and one tender body ready for stripping. Now I really ought to write the sermon for this afternoon.

Hello all, and apologies 231G for hijacking this thread, but I thought as my problem was with the same Jouef model, starting a new thread would be counterproductive. I just received from Ebay a 141p, which I picked up at what was a pretty good price. It has been messed around with a bit, but most of that was cosmetic. It had been repainted though, and with what looks like it was a 6" tar brush. I have dug around on the internet and found the instructions for dismantling the loco, and according to the instruction sheet, the tender should come apart simply by popping out the four small side 'pips', and then unclipping the two clips which protrude through the front dragbeam... Mine wont!! I have tried applying pressure in various places, I have tried leverage (although not too much, 'cos I don't want to be searching ebay for a new tender body), I have even tried talking to the offending beast, but it just won't budge. Anyone had a similar experience? Any ideas??

Hi Ray, For the last 15 years or so I have been a firm believer in printed card being the best way to reproduce London yellow brick. However, knowing that many people still prefer using embossed plastic, we decided to have a go at the club, trying to get a brick finish with plasticard which would stand up to nicely printed and weathered card. The first results were a disaster! We tried base coat with mortar flooded in, which just made a mess. We tried the base colour with mortar painted over then wiped off. We tried painting individual bricks, which just looked spotty even after airbrushing, we tried dry brushing the whole thing, I even tried wet mixing humbrol on the surface of the building to try to get some tonal depth, but nothing looked right. This was as good as it got, with a base coat of Humbrol 103 (cream) dry brushed over with 29 (dark earth) and 33 (matt black) Apologies fort he shadows on the following pictures. I have literally just taken them on my desk, and the light in the study is appalling. Then I stumbled on an article in one of the magazines which used coloured pencils to reproduce red brick, and it didn't look too bad, so I decided to have a go at the same technique for yellows. Here is the result so far. It looks better than the best of the painted buildings, but the technique still needs a bit more work. And here is a comparison of the two as they fit together on the layout (ironically this is the side which faces away from the public!) I used a base coat of Humbrol 83 (which is a stone-ish colour), then after leaving it to dry overnight I went over it with Faber Castell artists pencils: 1122-182 1122-187 1122-179 1122-177 1122-157 in that order ranging from a light yellow ochre to a dark blue/brown, including making a few random marks on individual bricks to break up the overall colour. These were then dry brushed over very lightly with Humbrol 29 before being lightly airbrushed with 33. Quite a faff, but I think it has been worth it. The trouble is, my next building to finish is a big block of flats, with loads of red brick relief detail to do as well. I'm not looking forward to those, so I am doing a good job of procrastination before trying to get them finished!

We have made rather a habit of producing just such layouts. I have attached some photos below, and there are some threads around on RMweb, although I have a feeling some of them are on the old version and may not have made it onto this current incarnation of the forum Two views of Sidney Street, our old exhibition layout. A truncated east end branch line with the station site in use as the run-round and van siding for the goods yard which took wagons via the hoist behind the platform into the low level yard. This is Limehouse Fields, the intermediate station on the Mile End Gate branch on the latest incarnation of Harford Street. Finally, this is my little 6' HO shunty layout, Rue Sidi Brahim. Similar concept to Sidney Street (Whence came the inspiration for the name!) with the station site in use as the headshunt for the connection to the Metro depot at street level.