Tullygrainey

The recent announcement by Marks Models and Hornby of an intention to produce a model of the ‘Irish’ Jinty prompted me to rummage in my future projects drawer for an old, much abused Hornby Jinty and an etched Jinty chassis kit from High Level, both of which have been in there for a while, originally acquired to build that very thing - an Irish Jinty, either in NCC or UTA livery. Time to dust them off.... The chassis kit is intended for the Bachmann model but I'm hoping the Hornby shell can be persuaded to fit. It's fairly basic compared to the more recent Bachmann but would probably repay a bit of work. Brassmasters do a nice detailing kit for it. The High Level chassis etch is a work of art and a thing of beauty - crisp and detailed in nickel silver. It almost seemed a crime to plaster it with solder and fingerprints. But, hey ho, eggs and omelettes. Off we go. Fixed bearings for the rear driven axle and compensation for the other two using hornblocks. The spring detail is made up of two additional layers laminated to the back of the one etched as part of the chassis frame. Their presence made removing the hornblock cutouts a bit tricky. Nearly managed to fold one of the frames in half... but once all the spacers were in, the whole thing became reassuringly rigid. And straight. There's a lot to be said for photo-etching. York Road, here we come. Alan

As you say David, a shedload of variables all waiting to trip you up so no mean achievement to get it working so well. A fine bit of work!

Great start. Looking forward to seeing this develop. Keep posting!

Beano is right. If you don’t need sound, any generic decoder will do the job as long as it has the correct number of pins to match the socket in your loco. Have a look at the DCC Concepts website. They have a useful range of decoders and also a plug-in stay-alive system which avoids the need to do any soldering (though you may not need stay-alive, given the sort of locomotives you’re using). I’ve been using them for a while now with no problems.

Apologies, it's probably me causing some of the confusion here. The carriage, a Brake 3rd, currently parked at Brookhall Mill (possibly full of drunk passengers) was built from a Bill Bedford etch that had lurked in Patrick's projects drawer for about 10 years. The same kits are now rebranded as Mousa Models products and available from them. Wizard Models do seem to stock some Bedford etches, mostly detailing stuff like brake levers and W irons, but not the Mousa carriages. None of those detailing bits appear on the Mousa site so could they be older remaindered stock? PS: Just checked the Wizard site again and I notice most of the Bedford items are 'out of stock' which does seem to suggest a product line being run down

No, JB, it’s made from a Bill Bedford etch

Just brilliant!

Stellar stuff David! A lot of inspiration, invention and graft involved in creating those cylinder/slide bar/crosshead assemblies - I make it at least 35 separate bits in each one, counting the bolt heads which I love - but the results are definitely worth the effort required. They really look the part.

Oh dear! Lady Luck doesn’t seem to be playing ball with you these days David. I wonder why the stage 1 gear wheel was self destructing. I’ve occasionally had a shaft come adrift from its housing at one end, making the gear go out of mesh. I use superglue to secure the shafts and sometimes it doesn’t take. The first indication is usually lumpy running. The cranks look well. Making those was painstaking, I’d say.

Masterpiece, Patrick. I can smell the damp and mould and hear the rainwater dripping from leaking gutters.

I know the received wisdom is that the actual angle doesn't matter so long as it's the same on all the axles but I'm not sure how far you can stray from 90 degrees before it starts to affect the running. If your drivers are running smoothly David, then I'd say you don't have a problem but it's an interesting question.

Every tool in the box, and then some! Looks familiar. I know that sinking feeling when something you've spent hours on suddenly looks to be scrap but excellent recovery David. That was an extra hurdle I'm sure you could've done without but you seem to be back on track again. All part of the learning curve I like the idea of the keeper plate. Worth the time and effort required I think.

That is a very impressive piece of miniature engineering John. I begin to see how tricky it is to make that particular wheel configuration work properly. So many variables! On 98's tender, do the wire keepers for the front and middle axles also provide springing or is there something else in there as well? Alan

What's the white convertible just visible below the Humber? is it a Ford Zephyr or Zodiac?

All this fishy talk is just a red herring. The real issue is what sort of service* the church will have. * steam or diesel?

Still needs a new suit I see

The BCDR Oldbury coaches are just about finished bar some minor tweaking. All aboard. The roofs are detachable so that drunk passengers can be helped back to their seats if they fall over. The bodywork should probably be lined out but I don't have that sort of courage. A little bit of light weathering has helped blend body to chassis... ... and Diesel No.2 has something appropriate to haul at last. Mind you, what it's doing at Loughan Quay is anyone's guess. IMG_9006.mov

Thanks Nelson. The figures are a mixture - Some whitemetal ones from Dart Castings (the Monty’s range) and some plastic ones from the Dapol (the old ex-Airfix) passenger set. Dart also do a whitemetal passenger set - a 14 figure job lot similar to the Monty’s range but of lesser quality and considerably cheaper. They’re in the mix as well. They’re pretty crude but since they’ll be tucked inside an unlit coach, they don’t need to be perfect

may need to repurpose the spare bedroom for that one Patrick!

More little things sent to try us - glazing coach windows. It would be nice if a single bit of acetate could be used to glaze a whole side but the internal bracing meant each window had to be glazed separately. Took me two days to do three coaches. Unseemly language was used along with the Glue'n'Glaze. Still, it's done now. The seats are back from the upholsterers too. Authentic BCDR 3rd class pattern, don't you know. Ready for fitting... ... and just as well. There's a motley bunch of passengers impatient to get going. All aboard Alan

Lovely stuff David. I'm really enjoying watching your progress. Keep posting!

Back with the BCDR coaches. Primer coats... first top coat... second coat and some transfers. Travelling third class again. Alan

This has become a running joke

If I were Mr Weaver, I wouldn’t stand for it