David Holman

After my visit to Allypally, got the required bits and pieces to complete Fermanagh - handrail knobs, fine brass strip and the all important gearbox. Spent all day Sunday getting the loco running. Sometimes things just 'work', others it needs more effort!. No criticism of the kit mind - just one of those times when one has to persevere and a loco is little use if it doesn't run properly! So, first had to tune the gearbox [A Roxy Mouldings etch], because the brass bearings supplied were a bit tight and the motor was running hot. Once that was cured, then installed it on one axle of the loco and checked it would fit in the body cut out. Small amount of fettling needed, but soon fine, so then hooked up the con-rods for another test. This also went well and I then had a motorised chassis which ran without the motor getting warm. However, when I fitted the bodywork, it was clear that the front drivers were rubbing on the splashers - never good on a metal kit as there plethora of sparks showed when I tried it on the track! Only answer was to unsolder the front and middle splashers and open out the cut outs by a millimetre each side, before re-fitting the splasher bodies. Really a simple case of clearances being a bit tight for 36.75mm gauge - that and the fact that I should have checked them earlier. Even so, then needed to fit thicker washers to limit side play on the front drivers to an absolute minimum. Sod's Law then said the motor was running warm after 10 mins on the rolling road, so a bit of thinning required... Should now be fine for the 4 metre run that is all that is expected of the model though. All still not perfect though, as needed a couple goes at trimming the spring on the bogie, before the drivers sat properly on the track. However, it now seems to run pretty well & will continue to give it more time on the rolling road to bed things in. Now a case of adding the extra bits & pieces, such as the small handrails on the front of the tanks and the rainstrips [lips really] on the cab roof. Then painted the back head & took the model apart again, so I could do a thorough clean up, prior to priming. Will be very surprised if it doesn't need further work once this is done as primer provides a very useful 'witness coat' for the minor blemishes you miss on a gleaming brass finish. Pictures show the loco with Hazlewood - this now has its cab profile corrected and also now needs to visit the paint shop again. Also a couple of pics of the underside, showing how I've arranged the pickups. with no room to hide them behind splashers or solebars, they are fitted semi-vertically and bear on the backs of the flanges. Quite pleased with the effect, not least because my pickups normally end up very untidy & for once these are quite neat - for me especially!

Like many modellers, I have catholic tastes, though they rarely manifest themselves beyond drawing layout plans in my case. However, with relatives in British Columbia, I have been fortunate to make several visits, including Vancouver Island, where the Forest Museum, near Duncan is home to a splendid collection of logging equipment, including several logging engines of various kinds, plus a working 3' gauge tourist line which gives a nice ride over a figure of 8 route around the museum. If you manage to get to BC, the Museum is a must. On one visit, I achieved something I never thought possible - a cab ride on their Shay. For those of you who don't know, these are geared logging engines, low in speed [about 10mph max], but high in power and able to climb 1 in 10 grades with ease. At full speed, they sound like a Pacific doing 90... For these reasons, I acquired a Bachmann 0n30 Shay a while back, very similar to the one at the Forest Museum. Ideas for a small layout/diorama were played around with but, then discovered my loco model shop was selling off a Bachmann HO shay, with a Tsunami sound chip for £110. Given the chip alone is worth that, it was too much to resist. So, could I then make a small layout on which I could run both shays - if not at the same time? Track gauge is the same of course, so it was a case of devising a simple plan, with the minimum of buildings that could work in both scales. thus Dichotomy yard was born. The track plan is a loop with two sidings, one in each direction & the layout is a completely self-contained shunting puzzle. The design came from a Gauge 0 Guild 'Small Layouts' book. The loop holds just one wagon, the headshunts each end a loco and a wagon, with one siding holding 4 wagons and the other three. A set of cards, one for each wagon are shuffled and dealt out to hang on pegs at the front of the layout. It is then a case of trying to shunt the wagons in the correct order. Easier said than done! The baseboard is just 4'6 x 1', track is Peco and control is DCC, though only to take advantage of the sound system on the HO loco. The Dichotomy warehouse at one end is 'multi-scale', at the other end the water tank is removable, so I have built two - one for each scale. Different road vehicles are used for each scale too. A hand painted backscene sets the layout alongside a narrow lake & the yard is assumed to be a small corner of a larger system. I'd just bought a static grass machine, so much fun was had experimenting with it to produce the ground cover. Normally, the layout sits on a shelf in my study, though it does have short folding legs and is exhibitable. I've bought a few HO and 0n30 wagons, so can operate happily in either scale as the mood takes me. The full range of sounds on the HO shay really expand the experience, though it is also nice to work in peace and quite - especially as the shunting puzzles are serious brain ache at times! Hopefully, you will be able to work out what scale each of the photos is.

While I'm sure that these new style connectors work fine, would echo earlier comments that they may not be the best thing for portable layouts. Equally, solder joints can fail occasionally too! On the subject of soldering, the maxim of 'cleanliness BEFORE Godliness' is essential. Therefore use fine wet & dry/fibreglass pencil etc to clean the surfaces to be joined. I use a paste type flux as well, though any sort will do. Like everything else a bit of practice helps, though soldering a wire to a connector, rail etc really is simple once you have done it a couple of times. Don't faff around with small wattage irons - a 15 watt may be ok for fine wires, but would suggest at least 25 watts for 00 and double that for larger scales/bigger pieces of metal. For years now, I have been using an Antex 100 watt jobbie for pretty much everything apart from layout wiring, where a 25 watt one is best. Treated myself to an RSU a few years ago & though a bit of a luxury, it really works well when you need an extra hand, thanks to its foot operated switch. Equally, I do not solder everything & prefer to use 5 min epoxy for whitemetal castings and the new cyanos where appropriate too.

With work on Fermanagh sidelined for a few days till I can get a motor gearbox, an opportunity presented itself to 'plant' the signal post. Had to cut a scale 5'x3' hole in the baseboard surface and clear a section of foliage a bit like the real thing, I guess! This is because the operating mechanisms will be wire in tube/cranks below the baseboard. The idea is that the signal base is a nice tight fit in the hole, but the whole signal unit can be removed for transport or maintenance, with having to undo anything - a concept available from Wizard Models, though I have developed my own version to hopefully mean all three arms can be moved on/off. The surface of the base 'plate' is painted in weathered concrete. VERY unlikely that the sigs will ever be interlocked with the gates...

Fabulous trackwork & well worth the effort. Really sets the scene!

A case of function over form... Call me a sad so and so, but the decline of freight severely reduces interest in watching trains go by. At my local level crossing, the only interest is the daily stone train, but even here, counting the wagons is pointless, because it is block train, with 15 stone bogies. Slightly better than the 3 car EMU, but not much. Even in my diesel spotting days on the East Coast mainline, there was endless variety. I for one would love to see fewer lorries and more containers on the rails!

Gosh, they are ugly things! However not without charm and super modelling

Only just noticed this - what diameter are they? In 7mm scale I normally use Evergreen 80 or 100 though rod/square section strip, according to need. however, this stuff can cost up to 50p a strip, so always looking for alternatives. A further tip for gutters - use plastic sheet or strip. Only need to file the outside edge round [or add quarter round section to the edge if really fussy]. Paint the top black and stick to your building's wall. Works a treat and nobody sees the dodge, especially if you file a couple of cm at the ends to a full gutter profile.

And, well done with the rugby as well. Any team who wins in Paris deserves to be champions. A decent cricket team too!

Was thinking about this the other day, when preparing some notes for a magazine article and the answer is not easy to fathom, other than the obvious delights and the fact that it makes a very satisfying alternative to the conventional 'terminus-fiddle yard' concept. I started off in 4mm scale, EM gauge, modelling Light Railway practice. The Colonel Stephen's railways have always fascinated me & we do share a name [my surname, being his Christian one]. After a couple of layouts, one of which was exhibited in the late 80s [Oare], I turned to 7mm NG, mainly because I liked the chunkiness of the larger scale. I also had lots of spares, particularly wheels, in 00 and found that I could build freelance locos on commercial chassis that were visually satisfying and also worked well. When the Hornby 08 shunter came out, the outside cranks made for an ideal base for a NG diesel and it was quickly chopped up and re-vamped the way some of you create Irish prototypes. Lima 08s and 2-6-2T chassis got similar treatment and the High Weald Light Railway appeared in RM in the early 90s. It was followed later by Cranbrook Town, which also got an article, along with several others on various locos and buildings. Loose End came next, also in RM, a layout I look back on fondly, because it ran well, looked good and introduced me to Gordon & Maggie Gravett, who remain good friends. Bizarrely, after I sold it to a chap near Nottingham, it then ended up in France, in the same barn where the Gravett's Ditchling Green resides. Strange or what? Loose End was a standard gauge, roadside tramway, based on the Wantage. Did my first proper scratch build for it, with the MRJournal's multi part article on how to do it from Laurie Griffin. Gave me the confidence to do a D16 Claud Hamilton after that, then a B17 footballer, so guess loco building fears were largely conquered by them - though I still get things wrong! the mainline locos were built to get a mainline layout out of my system and now my local club are doing a 7mm oval, I feel I have exorcised that particular ghost and find myself far happier with something more manageable in Arigna Town. As to why Irish - can only re-iterate the charm, and the fact that it something a bit different. That and [on the minor lines at least], the similarities to the col stephens lines. Which is where I came in...

John is right, 7mm scale is easier and having started in 4mm, EM gauge, I would not want to go back. Doing Railcar B's chassis reminded me how small and fiddly it is by comparison, while I have the greatest respect for the 2mm finescale folk too, whose models always seem to run so well. Suspect if I started again now in 4mm, my locos would all be 'off the shelf', because standards now are so much better than when I started 30 years ago. 7mm scale is potentially no more expensive than 4 or 2mm, mainly because, being bigger, you need less! RTR stuff is undoubtedly wallet emptying, compared to 4mm, but if you stick to smaller prototypes then kits are quite reasonable, while the new Dapol Terrier and 08 shunter are meant to be coming in under 200 euros. Their wagons start at about 40 euros - the same price as kits from Slaters and Parkside. Guess that 7mm is more of a builders [rather than operators] scale, because you need a lot of space for even a model station, while the 'basement empires' beloved of our cousins over the pond would need a lot of real estate in this scale. Am putting together some words for a possible IRRS article on 7mm scale and how 'doable' it is these days, especially 5'3, where it must be a lot easier than 4mm, with no need to go beyond finescale into S7. Would encourage anyone to have a go - a small diorama or shunting layout could be built quickly and reasonably cheaply. Alternatively, 7mm NG is a great way into the scale. That is how I started, with freelance locos built on commercial chassis and Ratio underframes for wagons and coaches - all in plasticard. A 7mm NG layout can be built in the same space as a 4mm line and you learn a lot in the process. However, it is VERY addictive!

Am inclined to agree with my namesake. Xuron cutter has its uses, but a slitting disc in a dremel or mini drill does the job. A triangular jeweller's file works in an emergency too - in my case about the first ten years of modelling. Slow, but I get there in the end.

Me too!

Mentioned last time that there were close to 100 items that still needing adding to Fermanagh, however, as most of them were only a couple of minutes each, it hasn't taken long to get them done. Had to remove the heavy strapping between the two tanks, as it gets in the way of removing the boiler unit. Hence will be glued back in place once the main painting has been done. However, buffer housings, handrails, piping etc have now been added and the backhead is ready for painting, though will not be able to fix this in place too permanently, as it covers one of the bolts that hold the boiler in place. Perhaps I could replace this bolt with a stud or brass rod, leaving just the bolt under the smokebox to hold the boiler unit in place. Any thoughts anyone? Spent a whole morning and afternoon [probably about 5 hours in all], doing a clean up on Fermanagh's bodywork. This is always a tedious job and would be easier if my soldering was neater. Use a cone shaped, grinder in the mini-drill, which gets rid of the worst of it, then it is out with the dreaded glass fibre pencil to tidy up the rest. This time, actually remembered to wear surgical gloves, so for once I will not spend the next few days picking pieces of fibre out of my fingers. Few things can be more painful for their size... Can't do a lot more now till after next weekend, as need some fine L shaped brass for the cab roof rainstrips, plus the all important motor gear box, both of which I'll hope to get from Allypally on Saturday. There's a certain S gauge Irish layout I want to see there too. See what differences you can spot between the two models.

As Fermanagh approaches completion, looking at my journal, it will be my 54th locomotive, only 8 of which were bought ready made and all but two of these were substantially altered as well. Of the other 46, 13 were scratch built, though in earlier days some of these were my own bodywork on commercial chassis. 12 were 4mm scale, one HO ( a Bachmann Shay - long story), and the rest 7mm scale, 13 of which were narrow gauge. There have ten layouts in all, with Arigna being the seventh one to be exhibited. Anyway, this leads me to wonder if other folk keep a modelling journal? I started mine about ten years ago and like any diary, can be interesting to look back on, as well as providing a useful source of notes if asked to write an article. Maybe some of my future blogs will cover a bit of my model making history...

All the main parts are in place now & I am at that start of 'adding the details'. even within a class of just 5 locos, there are many differences & the decision to make this loco Fermanagh was largely based on the plain smokebox door. Hazlewood was built because there seemed to be more photos of it than the others - though still missed the new cab, which I hope to remedy shortly. Anyway, the photo shows the two locos together. Adding up the details, I estimate there are still around 100 individual items to add [& no I'm not counting individual safety chain links]. What will probably take just as much time will be the cleaning up process. Maybe if I worked more slowly, there would be less solder to scrape off, but it is what I do and along with putting a lot of effort into getting a model ready for the paint shop, helps hide the building process in places.

Fascinating stuff, John. Looks like it will not make my wish list either, as appears to need at least 4' of depth in 7mm scale. As for Castlerackrent, that is probably what first got me interested in the Irish scene. That article in Model Railways was inspirational, not least in showing what could be achieved in a small space. Love the concept of the basement empire too. The idea of driving a train along a whole line is very appealing and those guys seem to create these layouts in a very short space of time too.when I win the lottery, that will be high on my list. Unlikely though, as I never buy a ticket...

Fabulous!

Agree with all that has been said, plus also worth keeping an eye on other hobbies too. The war game and military diorama folk have some great ideas, while for the US scene and ideas to inspire generally Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette is always worth a look.

Really interesting - presumably the new North Kerry book will help. Must get myself a copy! Newcastle West has always fascinated me. Always liked the idea of a 'terminus junction' because it expands operating potential. How easy is it to get hold of station track plans? Bet there are many tempting possibilities. Think 21 mm gauge would be wonderful, or 10.5 for that matter. Will look forward to hearing how things develop

After the delights of a week in the sunshine [Tenerife, very nice - especially away from the resorts], got back to model making. The kit is so well thought out that assembly is a breeze for all the main structural bits. Tabs and slots make positioning of each piece easy, particularly once all the rivets have been pressed out. The boiler requires a bit more effort as it needs rolling. On Hazlewood, I used some large diameter copper pipe that our plumber gave me. Absolutely the right size, but such a heat sink that it was impossible to solder anything to it. This time, borrowed a blow torch and annealed the boiler etch, which made rolling a tube much easier. A picture shows the 'tools' used - essentially some plastic water pipe and a bit of curtain pole, though anything of the suitable diameter will work. Used florists wire [soft iron], twisted round the boiler to hold in shape while the end pieces were soldered in place. After, a chunk needed taking out [with a slitting disc] for the motor gearbox at the firebox end. Setting up the boiler on the footplate has been well thought out. One solders a nut in the centre of the firebox end and then this can be bolted in place via a hole in the cab. A self tapping screw is used to hold the smokebox front in place & once satisfied all is square, the smokebox front is tack soldered to the boiler. One addition I've made is to solder a nut to the inside of the smokebox, so the whole boiler-smokebox unit can be bolted in place, which will hopefully make painting a bit easier. So suddenly the main structure of the loco is complete. However, time-wise, I suspect we are less than halfway still. This is because adding the details takes a lot of effort, while cleaning up, painting & weathering is also something not to be hurried. Getting there though.

Looking at photos of your layout is a good way to 'proof read' it an tidy up mistakes or areas that still need improving. Was looking at the hedgerows and noticed that the bases of the trees were bare and the wire frames were clearly visible. Easy to remedy with some postiche and scatter material. Have also started adding some reeds to the drainage ditch, which is going to be tedious. Only done a small area so far & not sure if I like it yet. A case of C-, could do better, as my school reports used to say!

Murrayec is correct, Warbonnet. Currently the press retails for £85... Did I really pay that much?!? Works with material up to 20thou thick. Has 3 anvils and two punches. Plus if you are suitably minded, there is a table gizmo with adjustment wheels [like on a lathe?] which, if you follow the instructions & understand the maths, enables evenly spaced rivets to be produced - even in a circle. I use mine intermittently, but is one of those tools that, once you've invested, you wonder how you got on without it. Bit like a static grass machine. GW Models are very 'old school' - which is why the press is so beautifully made. So, no email, but he is based at 11 Croshaw Close, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 9 LE. Often attends shows in the south east [uckfield especially] & usually has an advert in Model Railway journal

Currently the layout is not seeing much work as I concentrate on the railbus and Small Tank. However, cleaned the track and did a bit of test running recently, so here are a couple of new pictures.

Don't know about anyone else, but the successful completion of a working chassis is always a cause for celebration for me. I've built over 50 locos [kits and scratch] in the last 20 years, so I ought to know what I'm doing by now, but it is always so nice to get a chassis to the point where wheels and coupling rods turn freely. After all, we want our trains to run well. The Northstar [now Studio Scale Models] kit is fairly simple in that it is a basic six coupled unit, with no outside rods or valve gear to worry about. There are nice slots and tabs to help align things, so with my aluminium rods, it wasn't too hard to get everything nice and square, so the chassis will roll under its own weight. The interesting bit is the trailing bogie, which has a clever vertical and horizontal alignment capability using small and large springs and a sliding machined brass block. Works well. Springs and brake gear are a bit fiddly, but again, careful design and clear instructions ensured things went together easily. The final bit of the chassis was to add some dummy inside motion. This is a crude copy of a very nice set of castings produced by Laurie Griffin. In my case cobbled together from plastic rod, strip and tube. Once painted, it fills the large gap between the frames - often an issue with Irish locos. When I do Large Tank Sir Henry, I've promise myself that I will have a go a working inside motion - the wider frames ought to make it a bit easier, but like outside motion, is one of challenges I think one has to have a go at eventually. You can hold me to that too. Have included a picture of the GW models Rivet Press - super bit of kit, essential for this model, as you will see later.