Riverside

Yes - these Stores Vans grew on me. At first I thought they would be rather uninteresting but I now find them fascinating. The build took longer than anticipated due to the number of handrails, gas pipes etc. All I need now is an elderly passenger loco to haul the train. Perhaps I'll get on with that D22 test build this year.

My posts are very random and I don't have the time to delve too deeply into construction but I thought I'd share these images of a pair of NER Stores Vans I've just completed from a D&S kit. As always with Dan's products the kit was a pleasure to build. It was I believe the very last kit of these interesting vans and had etches with some slight faults - nothing insurmountable - just needed to scribe some of the missing detail. The chimney for the H2 van with the birdcage was also missing so I turned one on my ancient Unimat. They will be finished in NER Crimson Lake which should look smart.

Thanks for this great demo Paul. I have one of these Petrol Electric Autocars and model in EM. You may want to forward this conversion to the EMGS - they like putting conversions in the newsletter.

Well done Paul - such a lot done in a short time. Is the Petrol Electric Autocar converted to EM? If so - how easy was it?

What a find! They look surprisingly accurate and detailed for a 'corn flakes give-away'. Like the combination with the NER open carriage truck.

Mike, When I built the LNWR horsebox I was puzzled by the 4'3'' description in the Micro Rail instructions as 4'6'' seems to have been the length. Reading through the scalefour forum topic it looks like this 'mistake' was carried on when David Geen produced the kit. I assumed by the 1890s these horseboxes would have had some sort of brake gear although the kit has none! Friend gave me some details from LNWR publications showing the evolution of their brake gear for such vehicles - sorry but I can't find the drawing now - and I opted for a single brake block and lever on one side arrangement. I decided to fit the vehicle with through piped Vac and Westinghouse but can't say if that was accurate. The brake gear was scratchbuilt from metal strip and bar. Pete, The NER 'green' locos are professionally painted by Paul Moore who uses his own cellulose colour which I believe he has mixed by one of the automotive suppliers. If you are looking for an enamel version the Precision Paints range one is good.

What's not to like about horseboxes? That LNWR chassis looks great Citadel. Is it a home-etch? The safety chains are a nice detail. Lovely teak finish on the GER box.

Hi 'Citadel', If you have a copy of 'Historic carriage drawings vol 3 - non passenger coaching stock' by Peter Tatlow you will find on pg. 85 a useful couple of photos of a very similar M&SWJR horsebox with the odd fold down arrangement for the side doors.

Thank you Chas and Citadel, The W class or 'Whitby Willy'! was a lovely kit to build and there's plenty of space inside those tanks for added lead and a flywheel on the motor. My personal preference was to built one as the rebuilt version rather than the original 4-6-0T as I think they look better balanced. It depends on the period you're modelling as I think the class remained as 4-6-0T s until around 1917. The LNWR horsebox was built from a very old etched kit (Micro Rail I think) and the end detail did cause me some concern as the instructions referred to an image of one of these horseboxes in 'LNWR Miscellany' which I borrowed from a club member and that showed an interesting rod arrangement for lowering the sides. There was no provision for this in the kit nor for brake gear which I assumed they would have by the 1890s. I'll attach some more images of the horsebox which hopefully will explain but I have to say I'm no authority so hope I got it right!

I do finish kits ---eventually. Here is the LRM BTP finished and coupled to a pair of D&S clerestory Autocoaches (this lot took up most of my kitbuilding time last year). Plus the NER W class built from one of Arthur's kits. Locos were painted by Paul Moore who did a lovely job as usual. I painted and lined the coaches I heard Arthur is unwell and back in hospital - so wishing him a speedy recovery.

Thanks - seems to brush on very well. I like the open door on your model with guard!

Been making some progress on finishing four NER scratchbuilt wagons in EM. The body shells were started by Richard Lacey and I added the underframes and details. There is a V1/2 outside framed birdcage brake, 2 x R1 coke wagons and a diagram P6 coal hopper wagon. The outside framed brake van has a lot of character I think. I am now working on some transfers for these. Of course - just as I finished the P6 Accurascale announced they will be doing it .. oh well at least the R1 coke wagons are unavailable commercially ... so far.

What paint are you using for the 'Indian Red' Paul? I have one of these ready to paint. It's scratchbuilt though in plastcard.

Sorry to hear that Arthur has been admitted to hospital. I hope he's soon back to good health. As I read the news I received these pics of the R class I built from one of his kits, sent by Paul Moore the painter who has done a great job. I hope that Arthur can see them.

At last the BTP is complete and running sweetly after a marathon testing session. There were some very tricky details to add including the spring hangers which were brass castings. No advice in the instructions about how one is supposed to attach these. I had misgivings about fitting them at all but decided to give it a go as they are a prominent feature of these locos. I ended up cutting the exposed parts of the springs and hangers from the castings and soldering them to the splashers. Any excess solder was removed by filing and a burr in the drill. It worked and there were no issues with shorting onto the wheels. I did experience problems with shorting of the bogie wheels onto the frames as the engine traversed curves - this was remedied by filing away more of the frames in the relevant areas. As kits go - this is my fifth etched loco kit - I think the BTP is one of the harder kits I've attempted but it does capture the look of the prototype and is worth the effort. Now on to the pair of NER clerestory Autocoaches.

NER BTP. Well I'm not finding this one quite so straightforward. In EM gauge the frame spacers have produced a chassis width of 15.5 mm and given the back to back of EM wheels is 16.5 mm that does not leave much clearance! There is virtually no room for side play on the drivers but after a lot of fiddling with slim washers I do have a runner. I find most of my EM locos have 14 mm frames which gives some side play and allows the fitting of sprung pick ups which I like. Here I had to abandon the sprung pick ups and fitted some phospher bronze wipers which are working OK. I did manage to fit a standard High Level Roadrunner gearbox and Mashima motor which just fitted between the hornblocks. Having got the chassis to a bearable stage where it runs round my track with only the odd complaint I decided to get back on to the bodywork. There's a surprising amount of fine detail to be fabricated and the roof was an interesting challenge with a central rolled brass section soldered between the curved cab sides. I ended up soldering some scrap brass locating strips onto the cab side/roof curves and then soldered the centre in place. More filling with solder and then smoothing out. chassis completed but very tight clearances. roof bearers soldered in place.filling the roof joints with solder.

Thanks Paul, Interesting that you've used the Roadrunner gearbox. I had a look at High Level's website and decided perhaps the Slimliner and one of their new 1015 motors would fit but then I did fit standard High Level hornblocks which in EM have made getting the gearbox in a bit tight. Like you I'm aiming to hide the motor inside the firebox. Jol, The wheels are lined by my painter which he likes to do as it makes his job easier. It makes mine harder as I have to be careful to avoid damaging the paintwork. Regards, David

While I've followed some great posts on modelling the North Eastern this is my own first post and possibly a cry for help from anyone who's built a NER BTP from a London Road, ex Steve Barnfield kit. I have to say it's going reasonably well although the instructions lack any sort of drawings or sketches apart from some side views showing the many types of this locomotive. The chassis is at a 'basic' stage and I decided to get on with the body as I feel there is some advantage in that when it comes to fine-tuning the fit between the two. The cab is fiendishly tricky on this one with a combined cab/bunker etch with lots of rivets! At the moment I've rolled a curve onto the cab sides but am not particularly looking forward to rolling the cab roof and making it all line up smoothly with the sides. It's an interesting loco and hopefully will be united one day with a a pair of NER Auto coaches I have to build from D&S kits. At least it won't be challenged power-wise having only two coaches to push and pull.

Richard, I avoided Gibson plunger pick ups for years as I'd heard they acted like brakes. Then a member of the club I joined said there were no such problems. I find they work vey well provided you ensure the plunger is a smooth fit in the body (I also smooth and polish the ends) and you use very fine wire to connect them to a PCB block. Getting them as close to the centre line of the driving wheels as possible is also important and don't overdo the slight twist to the rod that keeps them in place. The High Level Roadrunner+ should work for the D20. The standard Roadrunner which I used did sit at and angle unlike Mike's builds where the motor is horizontal. I'd be interested to hear which gearbox he used. Thanks for the kind words on my D20 build. I enjoy building Arthur's kits - there is a familiarity in the construction once you've built a couple. Cheers, David

Mike, Firstly - thank you so much for your very helpful accounts of NER loco kit builds. I've found your detailed guidance notes very helpful in building Arthur's kits - so far I've completed a W class 4-6-2 T, a Tennant 2-4-0 and a D20 constantly referring to your accounts. Richard, For what it's worth I also built my D20/R class in EM gauge and I did find the clearances on the bogie wheels very tight. My layout has some curves under 4ft radius and on those the wheels shorted against the frames which as you know are like the prototype in having no cut-outs. My solution was to use tiny strips of black insulation tape stuck to the frames behind the wheels - hardly visible and it worked. I use a High Level Roadrunner gearbox which is what Arthur recommends and it fitted OK but during the build I noticed Mike's builds seem to have a taller (Loadhauler?) gearbox as the motor can then sit horizontal.... or perhaps this is just due to the greater clearance in P4? Sorry I don't have any better photos of the chassis and the loco has now gone to the painter. I use Gibson sprung pick ups wherever I can as I've found them to be reliable once set up carefully to allow free movement. I also fitted tender pick ups on the D20 which gave it a vey reliable power source. Regards, David

Happy Birthday Arthur! Such wonderful memories. My D20 is nearly complete. Many thanks for the pack of replacement sandboxes - they are just right. Cheers. David

Paul, How do you do the lettering on your NER wagons? It looks incredibly neat and precise - unlike any transfers I've used. David

I'm not sure if Arthur will thank me for this (as I know he has his hands full with loco kits) but I thought I'd post some pics of the NER bow ended gangway coaches I am completing from some test builds Arthur kindly made available for me. I am attempting to model the Newcastle - Liverpool express in North Eastern days and had some Bill Bedford kits purchased 30 years ago. The body shells on these kits were formed as a single section with the roof and I found it hard to get them into shape. Fortunately I had some even older Trevor Charlton etched zinc sides which came to the rescue for three of the vehicles I required. Arthur was able by sheer good luck to be able to provide the first class accommodation I needed - Dia. 154 2 compt. brake first and Dia. 152 corridor first shown here. Arthur had intended to produce a whole range of these elegant carriages and may well do so. I certainly hope so as they build into very attractive vehicles. I now have all the carriages built (apart from an open third) using underframes from Bill Bedford which are excellent, a combination of Trevor Charlton parts and Arthur's test builds for the bodies and roofs formed from LNER sections and ends obtained from MJT. The painting, lining and finishing of these coaches is taking quite some time and finding information on details like the roof fittings has been tricky. Several members of the NERA have been very helpful in that respect. All I need next is one of Arthur's long-promised V class Atlantics to pull the train.

Paul has done a fabulous job painting the Tennant. He even made his own transfers for the cab lining. Just the couplings, crew and fire irons to add now. I don't think my photos do it justice or get the colour right - much better in his 'studio' shots.

Hello Arthur, Saw your post re. my locos built from your kits and realised I'd sent you the wrong pics of the Tennant 2-4-0. Here are some of it almost completed. The pics I did send earlier are just 'progress shots! The 'W' class tank loco and the Tennant are built by me but actually the 'T' class was built by Mike Edge. Painting is as you say by Paul Moore who has done a fabulous job. Looking forward to the D20 and V/09 next when available. Best wishes, David