Tullygrainey

Most decoders are built to a common standard and as such will work ok with your NCE Powercab. I use the NCE system and have never encountered incompatibilities with any decoder. Most decoders also come with some variety of plug attached but as you're planning to hard wire it - and given the limited space you have to work in that's probably the most compact way to do it - it doesn't matter what sort you buy as you'll be cutting the plug off anyway. However, avoid the ones described as 'direct'. These need a socket to plug into which would take up space. My first criterion when buying decoders has always been size because I'm usually cramming them into small spaces. The range from DCC Concepts contains some of the smallest I've come across. Alan

Excellent! Great start JB. There's one thing you should know though. About this brass kit building malarkey. It's addictive

The majority of the fiddly bits are now done. Buffers, safety valves and vacuum pipes from Alan Gibson. The footplate steps are a Mainly Trains etch from Wizard Models. I made the chimney in the now traditional manner with brass tube, a washer and lots of solder. The dome is wooden dowel with a plasticard flange and filler to blend the two together. Still a bit of work to do on this before I cut away the surplus plastic and glue it on. Alan

It's a tricky job finding places to stow all of that but it's looking very neat so far. Despite my best efforts, my DCC installations always end up looking like multicoloured spaghetti.

Looking forward to watching this develop. I've hacked a fair few of those Hornby 0-4-0s but probably not quite as extensively as you're planning. A few suggestions for parts: Buffers: Alan Gibson (workshop) : Part No 4908 Early GWR Dean buffers. I've found these a good match for some Irish locos. http://www.alangibsonworkshop.com/ Hooks: Brassmasters etched hooks and chain https://www.brassmasters.co.uk/3-link_couplings.htm Smokebox door wheels : Wizard Models MT260 https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/buildings/mt260/ Gearboxes You'd do no better than something from the High Level range but I suspect the difficulty would be fitting one of these into the Hornby chassis https://www.highlevelkits.co.uk/gearboxes I've also used Hornby outside cylinder spares from Peter's Spares to sort the lack of crossheads on the Hornby 0-4-0 chassis https://www.petersspares.com/p/hornby-x8834w-class-28xx-2-8-0-loco-valve-gear-set-weathered Alan

Now that is very fine indeed!

That landscaping is a delight JB. Just perfect!

Hi Jamie, Welcome to the forum. It's good to hear from someone else who shares my affection for the narrow gauge Peckett at Cultra. I've sent you a message with some photos and measurements which I hope will be helpful for your project. Alan

In the cold hard light of day this morning, I could see the boiler was too long (still!) More butchery careful fettling dispensed with an unnecessary 6 scale inches of boiler. Still a bit long but then, so's the chassis but it looks better now, to my eye at least. Alan School of 'measure once, cut as many times as necessary'

That won't help the waistline either!

That works a treat! They look really well. Very convincing. Thanks Darius. I’ll try that. Pies! There goes the waistline.

I bottled out of buying a Dremel years ago and bought a cheaper alternative. Bad move. Its minimum speed is still too fast for delicate work and I've done more damage than enough with it. A reminder that it's always best to avoid cheap tools. I knew that but it didn't stop me!

Thanks David. After marking it out, I drill a few strategic holes and roughly cut out the unwanted bits with a piercing saw, a little way inside the lines. Then I file the edges back to the lines. This is where those Valorbe Swiss files earn their keep!

Still making progress despite the usual scratch-building shenanigans - boiler too long, then boiler set too high, then lowered boiler fouling wheels. Among other things. I rolled the boiler (10 thou brass) before adding the tank tops so I knew how much space would be needed between them. Having the boiler also allowed me to get the firebox (more 10 thou brass) the right width to match. This has plumber's solder puddled inside the joint to give some meat for filing its curves. Tank tops, fitted and soldered to the cab front. 0.45mm and 0.7mm brass rod for the beading. Smokebox saddle is 15 thou nickel silver with a captive nut in its baseplate. Smokebox wrapper is 10 thou brass. The boiler had to have a very large hole hacked in it to clear the rtr chassis, even bigger than this in the end. Beginning to look like a locomotive at last. The chassis will need some TLC. It's full of brass filings Alan

Regarding sprung buffers, I would echo the comments above. They can ease things on curves and prevent the derailing that can happen when rigid buffers clash. I fit my scratch builds with sprung buffers from Alan Gibson and always try to make them work. I've lost a lot of springs to the carpet monster though...