DavidLong

That lever frame is almost as big as the layout, Angus! David

The common denominator in the evolution of the RTR split frame chassis with bearings is Colin Albright. It was developed while he was at Bachmann and without knowing exact timelines he may well have been involved in the design of all the locos which have used this system. This has continued with his involvement with the NGS Hunslet shunter which will also be convertable to 2FS. RevolutioN have also confirmed to Jerry that the forthcoming 56xx uses the same system. On the occasions that I have spoken to Ben Ando he is quite supportive of the idea that locos with couple wheelbases, while being produced principally for N, can be converted to 2FS. Although the sales to 2FS modellers may be small compared to those to N gaugers they do represent additional sales with no detrimental effect on the main market. It seems a shame that Bachmann haven't taken the same view. I also agree that this is a worry for the revamped 8F. Anyone got any Bachmann contacts? David

The headshunt is about 110' long (using the measuring tool on the map) which, if the wagons are 1887/1907 spec would allow for six wagons at a time. The sidings are 230' long so there is a reasonable capacity across them. Nick has commented that the branch seems to have been worked as an incline and that would usually suggest that shortish trains would be worked up/down it. A locomotive must have collected/delivered them at some point but there is little indication on the map where that might be. It could be near the branch junction or, possibly, at the loop by the Alyn brick works. There were two other pits locally Wood Pit and Tan-llan which can be seen over to the right on the map: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=53.1196&lon=-3.0956&layers=168&b=1 There are sidings next to the main line for serving these pits and it is possible that the service to these could also collect the output from Tryddyn Lodge and the brick works. As you say, the working at the colliery must have been a fairly slow process but would certainly have kept men and horses fully occupied. David

Many thanks for the responses. Interesting that Tryddyn Lodge was indeed part pf the cannel coal/oil boom but it still met the same fate as other enterprises that were involved. My eyes seem to have passed over the 1899 map on Old Maps so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I did think that the later arrangements looked like a traverser but it seemed such an unlikely piece of infrastructure that I thought some extra pairs of eyes may be useful. I also hadn't realised that the entire branch was in fact an incline although there is an engine house marked on the 1872 map. Could it be that the small square structure at the south end of the 1912 map is also an engine house? It doesn't have any identification but it is positioned at the extreme end of the 'main line'. The really intriguing part is how the traverser was operated but I guess we may never know the answer to that particular question. Thanks, Nick, for the pointer at the relevant issues of 'Archive'; I note that Lightmoor still have copies of 17 and 18 available so I will be placing an order. David

I've had an interest in the Coed Talon area of Flintshire for some time and I've been taking another look at the area on the NLS maps website. Coed Talon in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the centre for a number of industries mostly related to coal and bricks. It was also part of the cannel oil boom around 1860, a boom which turned out to one of the shortest lived booms ever! Just south of Coed Talon on the line to Brymbo a half-mile branch off the main line served the Alyn Brick, Tile and Terra Cotta works and terminated at Tryddyn Lodge colliery. The track layout at the colliery is quite extraordinary and can be seen here: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=53.1170&lon=-3.1021&layers=168&b=1 Does anyone have any idea what may be going on? The 1872 1:2500 shows a more normal track layout with a widely spaced loop and a couple of sidings. Three shafts, a lime kiln and a scattering of small buildings complete the scene. The 1912 map is as my link and, sadly, no further 1:2500 survey took place until 1970. Both the latter and a 1954 1:10560 survey show the site as cleared. Any speculation would be appreciated! David

Farish section of Hattons website is still a sea of pre-orders. No change there then. David

I couldn't get on with sticking down Templots with pva, Jim. May be my incompetence but too many wrinkles! Andy Hanson pointed me at A4 self-adhesive labels and I've never looked back! As always, the joints between sheets are the difficult part but if you haven't rollered the offending sheet it can be ripped up and replaced by a new one. I also use the labels for making mock-ups of buildings. I still use hand drawing but even with computer generated artwork it is possible to print onto the label, cut it out, stick to card and cut out the building outline. David

I buy all my rail tickets from the Virgin Trains website although, sadly, not for much longer. I elect to print at a station. This is usually my local station at Atherton and, judging by the huge list that is displayed, it could be at almost any station throughout the network. I'm not a technophobe and I have and use a smart phone but I prefer a handy, credit card sized card ticket. When bought this is tucked into my ticket wallet along with my senior railcard, Oyster card and TfGM bus/tram/rail pass. No problem with failed signals, absent networks and the like. If I lose my ticket it is down to me alone. No arguments. Tough. My fault. David

Howard, When building 2FS track I have always used ordinary pva to glue it down. This applies to track constructed only in pcb and also my current preferred method of ply sleepers and Easitrac chairs which only requires four pcb sleepers. These are two under the crossing vee, one to provide an electrical connection between closures and stock rails and one at the switch ends. I have never experinced any problems with using pva. In recent years my Templot prints have been printed onto A4 self-adhesive labels which are stuck to the baseboard. Anyone who doubts their adhesive qualities has never tried to get them off again! A small wallpaper roller is used to really make sure that they are down for good. I have constructed pcb track off the baseboard usually in sections rather than discrete units of separate points and plain track. The labels in this case are stuck to offcuts of mdf and the sections built onto the prints. Once the track is completed and cleaned up the pieces of mdf are put into the bath with a few inches of water and left to soak for a while. As long as you haven't used waterproof pva (!) when the mdf is retrieved later the track can be eased off the templates. Even then it can be an amusing procedure to try to remove the template prints from the mdf. Not easy. As the full layout print will have been stuck to the baseboard and will be identical to that used in construction, the assembled sections can then be stuck in place on the layout. Hope this helps. David

1927 Long Low Wagon aka Plate. First diagram of many by the LMS and also the smallest. Strangely, considering that the LMS went on describing the numerous later diagrams as Long Low, the photo in Essery Volume 1 clearly shows it lettered 'Plate Wagon'! I don't recall ever seeing this as a kit but a bit early for me anyway as I doubt that any of this diagram would have made it to the 1960s considering the numbers later built by the LMS, LNER and BR. Nice work though, Nick. David David

It was 'St Minions' by the East Riding Finescale Group. Appeared in, I think, BRM and Model Rail as well as several exhibitions. David Edit: Certainly Hornby Magazine December 2011 https://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19877

I've got two more that I'm going to give him David

Well said, Angus! If only more people, especially N gaugers, could grasp this simple fact. "But they are awfully fiddly", oh for heaven's sake, if you can't do 'fiddly' why do you work in a small and fiddly scale? David Edit to add, don't get me started on Electras . . .

I should, of course, add that when my split-box Class 40 rolls in it will have the coupling both on the buffer beam and on the bogie It will also mean that finally I will have to build a layout that accommodates something larger than a Type 2! https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p766079789 Mechanical magnificence! Sorry Justin, drifted off a bit there . . . David

Justin, A couple of snaps of a Class 24 that show the principle that I described in the previous post: I took these a while ago when Pete Matcham asked a similar question. David

Justin, My diesels always have the DGs on the bufferbeam and I haven't experienced any problem with them. They manage alright with A6 points and the advantage is that you can fit all the pipework which isn't possible with bogie mounted couplers. It certainly improves the look of the front end. If you cut the mounting plate shorter and then bend it at ninety degrees the coupling can be glued to the the rear of the buffer beam. You will need to remove the coupling box from the front of the bogie. There is a potential for problems when propelling stock such as tube wagons that have a greater amount of end swing due to the greater distance between the axle centres and the buffer beam. I solved this by widening the buffing plate and fitting wider loops. I'm a 'loop one end , latch at the other' DG person but fitting the full couplings to both ends, if you prefer, wouldn't make any difference to these principles. David

Still haven't got over that and forty one years later the Port still haven't made it back into the EFL. David

Ian, Would this layout be based on Kingston Wharf at Shoreham? https://www.flickr.com/photos/31890193@N08/11384237025 http://www.brightonlocoworks.co.uk/kingston-wharf.php Look forward to seeing how the slip develops. David

I was wondering if Sturridge might be reunited with Brendan at Leicester. He was part of the Liverpool team that almost won the league under Rogers and Leicester desperately need someone who can stick the ball in the net without always relying on Jamie Vardy. Scoring goals on a regular basis is something that Iheancho and Demarai Gray have singularly failed to do. And as for Islam Slimani . . . Leicester have some terrific players and, along with Wolves, could just profit from any more stumbles by the infamous 'top six'. David

As well as the 3D printed jig for pushing out the etched chairs David

Allegri for MU? Discuss. David

Oh bu**er, I missed a gloat box! Teach me to go on holiday. David

There's nothing quite like an Irish rural railway in these islands. 'Argadeen' on the Timoleague & Courtmacsherry David

An excellent idea if I may say so and also on the choice of gauge. I've been to a number of shows in Ireland and they are sea of Peco in either 4mm or N. So depressing! I've toyed with some Irish work myself but haven't spent much time on it recently but a couple of examples are here: The loco is the beginnings of a MGWR J26 0-6-0, the open is from the Cork,Bandon & South Coast Railway, the van is a post-war (sorry, post-Emergency!) CIE vehicle and the tank is Peco. On the loco the frames are a little wider apart, 7.5mm I think and I just moved the back-to-back out to 9.6mm. This may not be absolutely correct for pointwork but I haven't built any to try it!* The difficulty with the rolling stock is that you really need some 13mm axles. This used to be the Association standard and both axleguards and some basic chassis' were produced to use these axles but are, sadly, no longer available. It may be obvious that with a 1mm increase on the b-to-b that the pinpoints would disappear with 12.25mm axles! It would be possible to cut the 2-312 RCH W-irons down the middle and rejoin them further apart and this may also be possible with some etched underframes. For axles you could use the 13.7mm version from Shop 2, file down one end and then restore the pinpoint at 13mm. For the track I would suggest using pcb sleepers and soldering the rail directly to them to give the best impression of the lightweight permanent way. The rail to use is a matter of choice, 40thou strip, bullhead or FB. Ideally you could try the 30thou strip but it's a pig to use and would require a lot of persistence and bad language to complete the layout. If you really get bitten then I would suggest a modest subscription to New Irish Lines: https://newirishlines.org/ Alan O'Rourke is very helpful and may be able to point you in the direction of useful information. I hope that you succeed as Irish railways are the great unexplored part of railway modelling and deserve a wider exposure. With the correct gauge, of course David * The correct standards for 2FS are here: http://www.2mm.org.uk/standards/basicstd.htm

Looking much better, Mike, but don't forget my comment that " rear of arms are white with black stripe for home signal and white with black chevron for distant signal". David