Corbs

Maybe something like this? I think there was already a loco with this name but I wanted it. I think if I shortened the firebox and tender, took out the rear carrying wheels and instead added an extra set of driving wheels, I could make a useable freight loco out of this...

That's a good one, and 'Hydra' for 99003...

D'oh! With the 4-8-4, what would be the point in a 2 cylinder with walschaerts when you can have a 3 cylinder loco with Caprotti valve gear? Also beefed up the rods, added roller bearings and redesigned the 2 rear axles to take on board your advice. First one is smaller wheel diameter, 2nd is a different spring design. Looks better now I think. EDIT and a name!

Riddles would have had him locked up so he didn't speak to Bulleid!

Fantastic! You've achieved so much in such a short space of time. Brilliant looking layout. A few things that jump out at me: The combination of black, open fiddle yard and the continuation of the scenic area in front really appeals to me. The way the scenic area 'bleeds away' is so much better than sky-corners and horizons that are too close. The baseboard join is very well disguised, it does not look like the typical post-earthquake join that plagues many layouts. How did you prevent the road having a visible join, was it a 'plug' that fits in? The RSJ is a brilliant idea and really adds to the overall presentation. Was the red lorry the one that worked down at the little hamlet of Brookford for a while? I wonder if Denton Brook could be hooked on to the fiddle yard for an RC extravanganza!

Could do, yes. I already extended it to have 4 axles! Had to reduce the spacing though as it looks too rigid otherwise, so maybe a bigger one will require bogies.

The poor, poor fireman.... My own P2/4 is still in the drawer! I need to get some mojo back for it (edited to reduce the firebox length a bit and add a double chimey!)

I fancy having a crack at a BR Standard 4-8-4. Some Peppercorn 'what-ifs' made earlier in the thread and reposted here for comparison... 2-8-4 4-6-4 4-8-2 based on a model by Simon Martin

This is an interesting discussion but let us not forget to allow ourselves to dream of Standard 8Fs and Peppercorn 'Baltics'. I did find myself wondering if, had the USA not built so many S160 locos, perhaps more WD 2-8-0s would have stayed abroad, leaving a gap for a standard 8F in BR's line-up?

Russ, I don't think Pete was referring to you when he mentioned getting clever with words, mate. This is all a bit of a silly misunderstanding. Mark's post was a positive one but perhaps slightly ambiguous. Pete misunderstood Mark's post and was cross about the ambiguity. Can we all shake hands and can someone put the kettle on please?

uhhhh.... correct me if I'm wrong but I read Mark's comment as 'it is so finely detailed it gives the Hornby body a run for its money and if you did a full height version as well I think it would make a good replacement'?

The new couplings are a big improvement, Luke. What model filler did you use?

Yeah that's why I went for the browniest bright red that I could find on the shelf at Halfords, and a more subdued brown for the other side> I feared the lurid orange may have been too much of a contrast!

I think this one from RosiesBoss deserves inclusion http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/95885-makeover-of-tri-ang-north-british-shunter/

Thanks again! Lots of food for thought. In this alternate take on Awdry's universe I've changed quite a few things, for example: -Much of the development of the island has been backdated, so more railway expansion in the Victorian period -The 2 constituent companies of the NWR are the Sodor and Mainland Railway (which doesn't fail in this version but operates trains using hired FR motive power and has a ferry service from Vicarstown-Barrow) and the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway (which by 1915 runs Brendam-Tidmouth) -The TK&F (instead of the TK&E) stays independent until the 1923 grouping, when it is absorbed by its big blue neighbour -Because of the cordial links between the S&MR and the FR, the FR remain friendly with the NWR but the MR/LMS see it as a competitor and they do not get on. The LMS contests the decision for the NWR to retain running powers to Lakeside and Carnforth at the grouping, which sours things a bit. -The NWR doesn't get absorbed into BR in 1947, much like the IoMR did not, due to the interesting politics of the island which I won't go in to here (blatant hand waving but it suits me) Your explanation of how these two had navigated their way North suits me just fine! Perhaps the LMS was happy enough to offload some tired stock to it's little neighbour. Going on from your post I found some interesting info on Motor-Fitted stock here http://glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/Push%20Pull%20YTT.html

Looks like a fun project and nicely proportioned. I wonder if you could swap the wheelsets for some BR 08 ones and use dummy outside frames like the NG modellers often do? It might set it off nicely?

Height issue sorted!

It's one of those 'but for the couplings, I wouldn't have thought it was N gauge' layouts, and in such a small space too! Very impressive.

A stock photo of a Shap banker, it's a good pic as it manages to convey noise and motion and power. As does this one from Keighley https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/47279-lms-7119-lms-7279-and-br-47279/

Ahh thanks for the info! I wanted to add some compartment identifying numbers to the doors so that is very helpful. Coaches are a bit of a blind spot for me, I've not really looked into them much before. What year would these have been built in? If I need to move their arrival date earlier I suppose I could use the 'requisitioned by the WD during construction' ruse that managed to get an LBSC tank to the North West Interesting to see the roof furniture, too. Makes a big difference.

Another Restored Ratio coach, ABL joins CBL fresh out of the paintshop. I do like the red side quite a lot and may do the mainline stock to match. The roof hasn't been fixed down, my plan is to add some suggestion of an interior. Mikkel - Here is a rushed close up of the window on the new coach, I didn't use as much glue on this one but you can see a bit around the edges. Here's the older one with more spillage.

hehe, no I just ripped Sabotage off with a different song, got an A for it though!

If you have read the excellent 'The Chronicles of Pendre Sidings', the TR went through a phase of looking for second hand locos to adapt and ran into this problem. It's a lot more work. They looked at adapting Linda and Blanche and it would have involved a lot of surgery. If you have it, take a look at the widening of 'Douglas' in 'Locomotives of the Talyllyn and Corris' - it's a much easier job. You don't need to move the frames out at all. I believe it involved new axles, spacing the motion out, and adding spacers to the cylinders to move them outboard. This was a big factor in using an inside framed loco.

I find this kind of thing fascinating, all these posts have given me food for thought on my own timetabling. I've made a start, detailed here in this blog post in case anyone finds it useful: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1365/entry-20165-timetables-and-traffic-requirements/

Looking forward to this!