CWJ

Just nipped out to the garage to put some filler on those rough patches - going out now, but hope to spray the WYPTE cream later this evening. When I do, I'll put a photo up if anyone's interested. Cheers, Will

... a few bits and bobs I have also been working on: The outer cab ends have a multiple working socket on the headstock (just visible in orange on the right), above which is a square yellow box on the Hornby model. This is correct for the 'new' cab on a 153, but not for the original cab and certainly not for a 155, so this is what it looks like when filed flush with the skirting. Once I have re-wired the electrics and sorted out an interior, I will add the obstacle deflectors, couplings, horns and other details, but I don't want to fit them yet as they will be easily damaged. I might build them as a sub-assembly on a plate which is simply glued to the underside of the cab floor. The inner ends of the chassis need to have the yellow skirting removed. I have filed it flat, but later realised (see photos of no. 155344 at Leeds above) that the entire headstock needs to be removed, as the body overhangs the chassis by what appears to be six to nine inches (2 to 3mm). Finally, here are the excellent transfers from Fox. Clockwise from top-left: C3 labels (TOPS with data panels), MetroTrain logos, Regional Railways logos (with white numbers for bodysides and black numbers for cab ends), my home-made Arriva and Northern Rail logos, and some more data panels (I wouldn't have ordered these if I knew they came with the C3 labels!). The home-made transfers were done using clear transfer paper for inkjet printers, and I did a few different sizes so that I could pick the size which looked right. Graphics were easily found on the internet; hopefully I'm not breaking any laws by reproducing them for personal use. I may have another go at these using the laser printer at work, as the inkjet graphics are slightly patchy when viewed close-up. That concludes my update, hopefully it won't be another month before the next one. Please let me know what you think of progress so far, positive or otherwise! Cheers, Will

Now onto something more substantial... The NRN aerial holes at the inner ends of each car have been filled using a piece of styrene sheet (15mm X 12.5mm) formed to a gentle curve around the handle of my knife. This can sit neatly on the little ledge which runs around the inside of the hole, and if you had exactly the right thickness of sheet then you would hardly need any filler to mask the join. If, like me, your sheet is slightly too thin, then you will need to commence the messy process of filling the recess with Milliput or similar. I don't like this stuff; it is difficult to prepare and too stiff for small jobs like this, but is the only thing which will reliably fill a big hole. The same process applies to the cab side windows, but I used the original glazing (with the window frames filed down and the surface abraded to aid adhesion of the filler) to plug the gap. At this stage the filler is only roughly applied (as these photos show all too well...) - final filling will be done with something more refined than Milliput. Starting to look like a 2-car DMU! The NRN aerial holes, roof exhaust ports and cab side windows have now been smoothed with Revell filler putty (first time I've used this, much runnier than expected but this made it very easy to use) and the first coat of white primer has been applied. From this distance, my "home-made" window apetures look ok! The NRN aerial 'holes', now filled. The primer is very effective at showing up little defects, which will be dealt with using a bit more filler. One of the side windows, again needing a bit of filler here and there... ...and the other car. I'm quite pleased with how the bodies are looking; I was worried the filling and sanding process would leave them looking much more wobbly than they are. More to follow...

As usual with my 'quick projects', it has now been a whole month since my last update! Lots of progress to report though. Firstly, I spent a therapeutic half hour re-shaping the obstacle deflectors (also described as snowploughs) supplied with the Hornby Class 153. As you will see from the photos above, these have a chunky appearance when viewed sideways-on, so I have tried to file the edges to a point, as you would a knife blade. The treated areas are where the yellow paint has been filed away to reveal the black plastic. Looking from below, the two 'steps' on each side are chamfered at about 45 degrees to give the impression from most angles that the deflector is thinner. Next, the curved ends are treated similarly, using a rocking action with the file. You can also see where the deflector has been removed from the bracket which connects it to the bogie. Finally the rectangular part which surrounds the coupling is filed down, this time at a shallower angle so that the chamfer runs right to the back of the deflector. This will benefit from smoothing with wet and dry, followed by painting and copious weathering. More to follow...

Thanks Nick, that sounds like a good plan, although the glazing on the Dapol 155 would need to be made 'flusher' (if there is such a word!). To my eyes, this is more distracting than the roof profile. Maybe for the perfect model you could use the roof from the Dapol 155 and the chassis from the new 153, although if we are talking about the ultimate model, it should really have an underfloor motor instead of the intrusive motor bogie Thanks for the Scalelink tip - I may already have some of their stuff at the bottom of my 'kits which never seem to get built' pile. Filed a few more lumps of plastic off my 155 this evening but nothing worthy of photography... I hope to get the body ready for the painting stage tomorrow. Cheers, Will

Thanks for sharing the photo Steven, I'm really pleased as I haven't seen this conversion done by anyone yet. Your model looks great - if mine looks anything close, I'll be chuffed. On a seperate note, I managed to get some quick photos of the inner ends of a 155 at Leeds station today: I can use this as a guide to building the exhaust pipes (not sure about that perforated guard!) and it also gives an idea of the interior layout. The vehicle with the toilet also has this filler pipe alongside the gangway. I've also just noticed that the solebars stop short of the end of the body - I'll have to check that the model matches this! I'm hoping to get half an hour on the model later tonight - if so, I'll post some progress photos. Cheers, Will

...continuted: These are the outer cab ends after removal of the details for re-painting. I have filed down the small moulded handrails beneath each window and drilled holes for fine wire replacements. If things look a little messy it's because a few bits of paint came away with the removed parts. The inner ends have been cut away, as they should be slightly recessed on a 155. The gangways have been mounted on some thin Plastikard (about 0.5mm) to locate them the correct distance from the body and to allow them to be mounted low enough. The two holes are for fitting exhaust pipes which I will scratch build - I estimated the location of the fittings from a photo. I know this looks horrific close-up, but considering my usual standards I don't think I've made a bad job of cutting out the two windows. You can see on the top-right where my (new and sharp) drill bit ripped the plastic a little, despite using a hand drill and drilling well within the area I was cutting out. This was taken straight after filing; I will probably rub down the openings with wet-and-dry for a better finish, but once painted and glazed it should look okay. A word of caution to anyone attempting to do this conversion - the large plated-over window is about 1mm to wide for the glazing, hence why I have left a thick column of it on the left of the cut-out. I removed the PCB from this car and also the motor (simply unclip the bogie housing and lift out the motor), but stopped short of re-building the bogie as an underfloor unit which wouldn't intrude on the interior space. I may do this one day as an upgrade, at the same time as fitting interior lighting. The four black wires go to the bogie pick-ups, so I have left these in. On the interior unit there are three brown wires for the lighting (the LEDs are just visible below the cab desk). All seven wires will be connected to the powered car by a miniature plug and socket, so electrically the whole unit will work just like a single Class 153 did before. Finally for today, this cruel close-up demonstrates my inability to file things without filing nearby other things. This is the remains of the exhaust port, which will be filled and sanded smooth. This area is so tiny that I hadn't even noticed the missing rivets or damaged rain strip until I saw the photo. Also visible is the hole left by the NRN aerial, which simply un-clips from the inside of the roof. Please feel free to comment - any guidance would be much appreciated! Cheers, Will

Right, as promised, here are some photos of progress to date. Firstly, the donor model: The 'front' end of the Class 153 looks like a 155 already - not much to do here. The obstacle deflector needs raising up and mounting to the body (see photo of the real thing above), and some horns will be added either side of Hornby's excellent BSI coupler. The 'rear' end will be cut away, roughly around the edge of the yellow panel, and a new recessed end piece inserted. I will re-use the excellent gangway moulding, but the coupler, obstacle deflector and 'bufferbeam' skirting will all go into the bits box for another project. Going from left to right, the driver's cab window will be filled in and filed flush with the bodyside, not an easy task due to the profile at the end of the vehicle. The small vent below the door opening button will be removed, as will the steps at this end. The NRN radio aerial will be removed and a replacement flush piece fitted, and most noticeably of all, the small plated-over window will carefully be cut out and re-glazed. The other side will be treated similarly, except that there are two windows to cut out - one full-sized and one smaller. I'm hoping that I'll be able to cut the holes slightly smaller than the plated-over area, leaving a raised rim around the edge just like the other windows. More to follow...

Good plan! I'll even have a 'proof of concept' model...

Hello, Not having the skills or courage to upgrade the old Dapol model like Jim Smith-Wright (see the Birmingham New Street topic), I have just started the conversion of a pair of Hornby Class 153s into a 2-car Class 155 unit. This should be an interesting one, as the real Class 153s were of course converted from Class 155s in the first place. The rough plan is: Cut out inner cab ends and fit blank ends, re-using the gangways and fitting new exhausts (COMPLETE) Cut out the windows (three on each car) covered by blanking plates on the 153 (COMPLETE) Manufacture glazing to match the other windows (the tricky bit!) Removal/filling of cab side windows and NRN aerials at inner ends, and exhaust ports Remove 'bufferbeam' skirting and obstacle deflectors at inner ends Fit the obstactle deflector at the outer ends to the body rather than the bogie, and fit at the correct height along with horns Fit close couplings (Keen system) Re-wire one car as an un-motorised 'slave' unit providing pickups to (and taking lighting from) the 'master' car Modify and detail the interiors Re-paint in WYPTE red and cream livery, with either Arriva or Northern logos as worn in the late 1990s and early 2000s as below No. 155341 passes Castleton East Junction on 29th October 2006. (Photo: David Ingham/Wikipedia) Firstly, has anyone else attempted this before? If so, are there any pitfalls you can make me aware of? Secondly, if anyone has any spare glazing from a Hornby Class 153... I'll upload some progress photos after work. Cheers, Will

Ooh, yes please. If you're doing a steam loco it has to be a USA tank. Surprised an RTR model isn't already available, as these are quite distinctive and a few are preserved. I don't think a kit is available either, although DJH do one in H0. Cheers, Will

Yes, I'd be interested in a rake of these wagons if only the 20' gypsum containers were available in model form. Gypsum trains can be seen on many high-profile lines including the ECML and the Settle-Carlisle, so I would have thought they could be popular with modellers. As well as KFA wagons, they use FEAs (similar to those produced by Dapol) and PFA four-wheelers (similar to those produced in kit form by DC kits). I believe the original livery for the containers was white with 'British Gypsum' logo, later changed to dark blue and nowadays a lighter blue with no logo. Photo of KFAs on gypsum train here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/roger_sutcliffe/5602141999/sizes/l/in/photostream/ Close-up of a container here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/5642970504/ A representation of these containers is available from (I think) S Kits, but being a resin casting the detail isn't as crisp as an injection moulded model and mine was slightly warped. If any manufacturer is interested in producing an alternative kit or RTR container, I for one would buy twenty to thirty to make up my gypsum train. I also have a drawing I made up from the standard ISO dimensions, photographs and measurements with the intention of scratchbuilding. Apologies that this is slightly off-topic, but hopefully still of interest to KFA purchasers! Cheers, Will

I beg to differ! Your fiddle yard is very inspirational, especially the way you have used every square inch of available space and thought about how each siding will be used. I'm afraid I'm one of those sad people who tries to peek at the hidden parts of exhibition layouts; I find them almost as interesting as the scenic bits. Congratulations on completing your trackwork - I wish I was at the same stage! Cheers, Will

Hi Carl, That's a cracking tractor, I'm particularly impressed with the marker lights which look just right when off and when on. RTR manufacturers could learn a lot from this! A tip for the low-voltage fan motor: adding resistors to the power supply will mean the motor doesn't perform very well at certain track voltages (the same would apply if you used a resistor to drop 6V of the supply to your rechargeable battery) and you might need quite high-wattage resistors. An alternative solution would be a constant lighting circuit which can be bought from various suppliers (I think DCC supplies do one) but I expect you'd prefer to make your own - a suitable circuit is here: http://www.clag.org....ng-circuit.html . Hope this helps. Cheers, Will

Pete - Thanks for the photo and explanation. Great to see products like this on the market... maybe one day there will be as many 'bits and bobs' available for the modern image modeller as there are to modellers of steam and classic traction Jim - Apologies, your photo of the real thing shows that I should have kept my mouth shut! I believe these bodysides are made from extruded aluminium, so rather than modify the extrusion for the Class 172s, Bombardier probably built their own version of the etched brass windows to replace the style of glazing used on the Class 170s, hence the visible seam. Cheers, Will

Oh, the number of times I've done that... I now copy and paste my RMWeb entries into another document before pressing the 'go' button, just in case! On a more positive note the 172 is looking impressive. Hurst Models used to do smoked glazing, you'll find them on the internet. The etched glazing units seem to stand ever so slightly proud of the bodyside, although this is barely noticeable once the filler and blue paint is applied, so perhaps if these etches are produced for other customers the brass could be a fraction thinner? Not a criticism, just friendly advice! Cheers, Will

Hi Jim, Great to see some up-to-date modern image modelling (as opposed to 'modern image' being used to refer to 1960s diesel locos). Surprised nobody else has commented yet! I wonder if Bachmann will see how straightforward this conversion is and bring out a RTR Class 172? Presumably there are some other detail changes in addition to the bogies and windows. Cheers, Will

No need to apologise Gordon, I for one am glad that you're back in action. Dismantling your scenic section must have been heartbreaking; I wonder if a fellow RMWebber or Model Rail reader would have been interested in purchasing it as a diorama or to incorporate into another layout? Never mind, it's a bit late now! Please keep the updates coming. I'm especially interested to see if your new boards across the stairwell will support themselves, as I need to do something similar on my layout (one day I'll get round to writing it up on RMWeb but I keep getting distracted by other people's excellent layouts). Cheers, Will

Just seen this model in the flesh at York, and it looks great. Highlights for me are the seperately-fitted dampers (many recent RTR diesel locos still have these moulded as part of the bogie) and the seating (again, other RTR models often have a generic seat-shaped blob). With such attention to detail this model deserves to do really well. Mind-boggling that the mechanism can be hidden away on such a small vehicle, yet a much bigger, more established company had to fill a whole carriage with the power unit on their (longer) DMU! I'll add another request for the 3-car Class 144, if you're still looking into this, preferably in Metro red & cream (any variant). Cheers, Will PS. Realtrack must win the 2011 'Model Which is Far More Popular than the Real Thing' award.

Gordon, It's always good to hear an update from Eastwood Town, even if the circumstances are unfortunate. Having followed this from the start on RMWeb I was really chuffed to see it in Model Rail the other month, too. I was struggling to fit a fiddle yard into my layout plans but seeing your traverser inspired me to build my own, albeit with my very limited woodworking skills. It's a tad longer than yours (3300mm which is about 11'), making it difficult to operate smoothly with both ends aligned to the adjacent tracks, but I'm working on it! I also followed your technique for curved H-section baseboards (like you I have quite a lot of trackage 'behind the scenes') so was interested in seeing the latest 'octagonal' style. It may not look as sexy but if it's easier to build and equally strong then it has to be the way forward! All the best with the layout changes - you've shown how CAD really comes into its own here - and more importantly with your back. Cheers, Will

Hello All, There's a good photo of a pre-production model here: http://www.railexclusive.com/cms/uploads/thumb/Railcar-1.jpg Initial comments: - The buffer shanks appear to be too long - The metal rails across the seat backs look to be seperately-fitted from wire - a nice touch - The windscreen wiper is moulded into the glazing - Difficult to tell if the body is the right shape in such bright colours! - Rivet and body panelling detail looks excellent - Not clear from the photo how much of the interior is taken up by the motor, but it's certainly way below window height - The w-irons/axleguards aren't as prominent on the real thing - Let's hope the distinctive aluminium hopper windows are picked out in silver paint For comparison, there's a good photo of (the real) M79964 here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Railbus_79964_at_York_Railfest.JPG Cheers, Will PS. I don't know if it ever carried the M prefix when in service in the Buxton area, but it carries it in preservation on the Keighley & Worth Valley line.

Just found this thread - I remember hearing about the Heljan W&M railbus at Warley last year and am very excited that the model's on its way (and more importantly that I won't have to scratchbubild one!). Of all the models I never thought would be produced in RTR form... Let's not forget the 43 years of sterling service that the two railbuses have put in on the KWVR - much, much longer than they spent in BR operation - and likewise for those on the NNR. Four of the five were preserved, which might perhaps say something about the popularity and/or reliability of these railbuses compared with the other types. Dibber - thanks for the description of the model, I'm looking forward to the photos in Model Rail. Cheers, Will

Hello Gordon, Your method of baseboard construction is great, it's refreshing to see some new, original engineering! I'll be trying to copy it for my new layout as I have lots of 'behind the scenes' trackage which needs a long, thin baseboard. I'm hoping to support it on brackets off the wall though, rather than free-standing legs. Please keep us updated with the latest progress, it's fascinating, and I hope your injury hasn't slowed things down too much. Cheers, Will