David Holman

What a fabulous picture! Just checked the calendar to make sure it is not April 1st... Am wondering if such a train would have run on the Sligo Leitrim? However, what prpted the question was see the turf railways on the Belmullet headland. JHB's book on Achill Island details the projected lines, so turf trains could have been a real possibility then. Food for thought!

Especially if its a Guinness JB, though it is not quite the same this side of the water.

Was turf ever carried by broad gauge lines & if so, what type of wagons were used?

P4 now proven for those that like the precision. Plenty of layouts around now that run well - certainly not the case 10 years ago in my experience. 21mm to EM standards is [i'm fairly sure] the same as FS 16.5. The crossing gaps are slightly narrower & by the by, is why some folk in 7mm scale have a track gauge of 31.2 mm. Wheel back to backs stay the same, so flange ways through the points are tighter/smoother.

Seems there are no rivet counters out there at the moment - or more to the point 'lines of rivets'. Thought I finished the horrendous job of doing the tank sides, only to find I'd put five panels of intermediate rivets instead of six... Reaction was fairly muted for once, though the word that rhymes with what rowers put their oars in was uttered at least once. However, had been increasingly feeling that the 7mm scale 'anvil' was producing rivets that were too big. So, out with some more brass sheet and spent much of the day making new tank sides, which [to my eyes at least] look neater. Probably also said something that rhymes with rugger too - though much of that and more was reserved for Saturday's debacle. No, not against the Aussies - they were just too good, it is the Wales match that rankles. So, must now transfer my allegiances to Ireland [of course, you say], though the Haikka is still my favourite piece of sporting theatre.

The layout only gets seen as still photos on the web, but at the recent Worthing Show, some video footage was taken. it can be found on http://www.railwaymodellers.com Go the the 'Wadebridge Show' section & after a few minutes of modern image, Arigna town gets some attention.

21mm [or indeed 36.75mm] definitely the way to go. Everything just looks so right for the Irish scene & as Iain Rice would say, is THE prime layout'signature' While have no experience of 4mm scale, in 7mm 'fine scale' standards work perfectly well. OK the flange/crossing clearances are over scale compared to S7, but Arigna Town sees no derailments other than operator error & this is with Code 100 rail [as opposed to 124] as well. In 4mm scale, C&L point kits should make up perfectly well in 21mm gauge. As they come with blades ready machined and crossing fees already assembled, construction should be no more difficult than making a plastic kit... Can see why folk stick with 16.5mm in 4mm scale [especially the larger layouts] and as long as the viewpoint is kept at a low angle [plus using Code 75 rail], then it can look fine - as many photos on IRM show. Correct gauge really lifts things to another level though & would certainly encourage folk to have a go. Start with something small though!

In engineering terms, it borders on heresy, John. Am using 10 thou brass, so it can be cut with strong scissors. Do the same with 15 thou [likewise nickel silver], but anything over that means the fret saw. Really don't like it much, as it takes so long, which was why the frames and rods took so long to make. However, am not above using a slitting disc in my Dremel. Needs care, but much quicker! In each case, cut as close to the marked lines as I dare, then clean up with files. The 10 thou brass is probably a bit thin for 7mm scale, so am reinforcing it with scrap strips and/or L shaped angle as appropriate. Definitely recommend the rivet press. Well engineered from mild steel, have had mine for several years & though it doesn't get used a lot, it is one of those tools I would not be without.

The Worthing show went fairly well - a 6.15am start not withstanding on the Saturday morning. The venue was a modern high school, so good, flat floors - always a help. Most of the show was in the main corridor, which made a very quiet day, rather than the background noise you get in big hall. All went well on the Saturday, but I'd managed to get hold of some Track Magic for rail cleaning and though this works well, it turned out not to be a good idea to clean the wheels with the same stuff as adhesion suffered somewhat. Indeed the excursion track was inoperable with the G2 slipping to a standstill. A few other bits of remedial work are required for the next outing at Beckenham in three weeks time, including a new set of wheels for the railbus, as its drive wheels have become badly pitted. One sobering experience was driving on the A27 past the Shoreham air crash site - still very evident a month afterward.

Slow progress this week, due to other commitments. However, have managed to cut out a footplate, adding 2mm brass angle for the valances, plus spare buffer beams left over from my 'Small Tank' kits. Since then, have been experimenting with 10 thou brass for the tank and bunker sides. Like the small tanks, Sir Henry has hundreds of rivets. Was thinking that I would have to do some serious marking out to create them. However, then remembered that my GW Models rivet press, has a spacing table, which enables you to mark out rivets easily, with spacings down to 1mm or less. The first couple of attempts went a bit awry, but these will form the inner tank sides. The third attempt is good enough for one of the outer sides, so now need to get the second one done. Have cut out the pieces for the bunker sides/end, plus the tank fronts, so a fair bit of riveting is now required. unfortunately, the photo of the rivet press is too big to post, so will have another go & update soon.

There are all sorts of options for fiddle yards, but as noted above, depends on whether you want a space for 'the rest of the world', or to leave it open & scenic. A good compromise is to hide the fiddle yard behind a scenic space - maybe your branch line? The simplest/smallest fiddle yard is a 'cassette'. this might just be a removable piece of track [on a strip of plywood perhaps], or use two pieces of aluminium angle screwed to a strip of ply. One train per cassette, that you set up for each move on to the layout. Have used cassettes quite a lot, including on exhibition layouts and they do offer quite a bit a flexibility. However, perforce they need to be fairly short - maybe loco & 3-4 coaches, or the length can become unmanageable.

They look like small tension locks to me Broithe. Fairly discrete too.

Check out the Dapol Terrier W, 'tis a little gem!

Sounds splendid John. When I joined the Chatham Club in the late 1980s, the Doyen was a lovely man called Tony - a genius with tinplate. His favourite medium was empty Castrol GTX oil cans. One of his now legendary exploits was in bringing a drawing of a LSWR B4 0-4-0T down the club one week and a completed model of it the next - all cut from GTX tinplate. He also favoured 20-50 motor oil to lubricate the mechanisms of his locos, applied by hypodermic syringe - his was was diabetic. This was towards the end of that era when if you wanted anything out of the ordinary, you built it yourself. If I was starting again, then maybe I'd be sticking to RTR, but there is much satisfaction in creating something from scratch and happily the Irish scene still provides that opportunity.

Thanks John. Several people at shows have suggested the Small Tanks were long boiler types and looking at them it is hard to disagree, even though the design must have been very outdated by then. There again, there were described as primaeval! Though the wheel base of the Large Tanks is a different spacing, overall it is the same as the small ones and the more I study them, the more Similarities emerge.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20122 Around 4 days [probably getting on for over 20 hours] work has got a rolling chassis completed for Sir Henry. Helped very much by Slaters and the Royal Mail - put in an on line order for the wheels and bearings on Friday morning & the parcel was waiting when I got home from town on Friday morning. I had a few frame spacers left over from the Small Tank kit [now with Studio Models], plus a couple of spare buffer beams too, so the former were very useful when setting up the side frames. I used some 3/16" rods through the bearings to ensure the two frames were square, then added additional pieces that I cut myself afterwards. Hazlewood and Fermanagh form useful references for each stage of this project & I'm pretty much following the same order of construction. If it works... Anyway, this morning was able to assemble the wheels, drill out the coupling rods to 2.5mm and then [with more than a degree of trepidation] see if the chassis would roll. It was a bit tight at first, but this is not because of the rods, but the rather short crankpin throw on these wheels. The only 16 spoke ones available close to scale 4'8 are 4'7.5 for a GWR 2271 pannier tank. The throw is only 10", which means the 10BA crank pin bolt head fouls the frame bearings. Out with the Dremel again to grind a bit off each bearing. Guess I could have counter sunk the bolt heads, but in the past I've found this can reduce the strength of this joint. Anyway, all seems well and the chassis rolls very smoothly with just light finger pressure. Always a very satisfying moment in loco construction, 'cos if it doesn't work at this stage, then a lot of fettling can result before you get a good runner. One other thing to note from the pictures is the small gap between the two rear drivers - just as well I stole an inch on the frames - and indeed another inch on the drivers - or they would have been perilously close. Next step will be the footplate, then I can add the rear bogie. Happily, the Gladiator Models bogie equalising kit is the original from the Northstar - it still has their logo etched on it!

Much as I would like to extend, experience has taught my my limits in terms of exhibition layouts. Plus it was built to fit in my workshop and I don't have any storesge space for more boards. That said, I could well do a couple of diesels - C, 121, G etc, so there is still some mileage in the layout. Further ahead, a kit of the Clogher Valley Sharp Stewart tanks is being released soon and I've always liked the railcars...

Sorry W, know the scale, but is it 5'3 ( 36.75mm) gauge)

Very nice indeed.

Have also hear there can be issues with Cobalts. Tortoise motors on the other hand are very robust. Year ago, the Gauge O Guild built test rigs to try various makes of point motor. Tortoise survived longest, indeed, the test rig broke first! I've used them extensively on exhibition layouts over many years and only had one failure, when the inner gear train jammed. However, undoing the outer case enabled me to free things and had no problems with it since. The guarantee was invalidated of course, but hey it was already at least 6 years old...

Dare I ask what gauge these locos are? Very impressive, but would be nice to see someone else doing 36.75mm...

Ariana Town's fiddle yard has 7 tracks, six of which are now filled. The final track has long been reserved for Sir Henry, the SLNCR 'large tank', which I fell in love with courtesy of Neil Sprinks photo album of the line. Two things have put me off making a start, one the loco has to be a scratch build and with at least as many rivets as a small tank, is certainly no easy undertaking. Second, it was deciding on a train for it. I already have too many wagons, but didn't really want to add another freight train to the operating sequence. Looking through the Sprinks album once again gave me the idea of a short passenger train, made up of coach 10 or 11, plus a six wheeler and the parcels van I built last year. Alphagraphix do card kits of the coaches, so I've ordered a couple & finally decided to grasp the nettle on the loco. My CV now runs to well over 50 locos & though many are etched brass/nickel silver kits, I've only previous done two all metal scratch builds. Little and large, one is the Wantage Tramway well tank and the other a D16/3 [Claud Hamilton] 4-4-0. Plus, both were a while ago now, so it all added to the procrastination... However, the modelling season is upon us & creating a complete train seemed like a nice winter project - though it will probably take up autumn and spring as well. A starting point exists in that the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry holds a collection of Beyer Peacock drawings & I bought one a while ago and got as far as creating a basic outline drawing in 7mm scale. This was necessary because the BP one is a general arrangement [GA] drawing - a bit like a X-ray of the loco, showing much inside detail. Basic dimensions are also in the Sprinks history of the line, showing 4'8 16 spoke drivers and 3'0 bogie wheels. These are on order from Slaters, though there was an early issue in that the wheel spacing is 6'7+ 4'11. This means there is precious little space between the rear pair of drivers, so I've changed the spacing to 6'6+5'0 because there was every chance that the flags would be touching otherwise. Another problem is that there appears to be no source of coupling rods of this size, which is a shame, because rods are very time consuming to make and Premier Models do a very nice range of profile milled rods - but none that are anywhere near my needs. Also a pity, because I was tempted to build a sprung chassis, requiring jointed rods, but in the end chickened out and made a solid pair. These are very much the starting point for any loco chassis as by making the rods and them clamping them to the frames for drilling, there is a good chance that a smooth running loco will result. So far, have spent the last two days making the rods from 1.5mm brass strip, overlaid with a thin strip of 'fluted' brass. Nickel silver frames have been cut from 22swg & all in all this is not a quick process. Thin brass/nickel silver can be cut with strong scissors, but thicker stuck needs piercing saw, though I often cheat and use a slitting disc in the Dremel for longer cuts. A long list of castings/fittings is being prepared. I don't have a lathe, or indeed know how to use one, so am hoping there will be something suitable for the all important chimney & dome. At least I have a nice domed smokebox door in the spares box, otherwise a visit to the GOGuild Trade Show at Reading in December will help fill the shopping list. The photos show the loco, a section of the GA drawing and the start made with the rods, so watch this space

A case of goods in/cattle out. Hazlewood is the train engine, usually with five vans of SLNCR/GNR/CIE origin. After the loco runs round [and visits the turntable], the vans go to the goods siding & Hazlewood picks up the cattle vans to make up the return train. As can be seen from the photos, this means the good siding is completely full & a certain amount of trial and error has led to a specific set of wagons in the sequence. One too many [or indeed, couple too long] and the rake fouls the main platform line. On the reverse working, the cattle train enters the loop line [a rare use of the third doll on the signal] so the cattle vans go back to the dock after the loco has run round. Most of the time it all works really well, though occasionally I get the wagon order wrong and we find that the goods siding is overflowing. A few rude words [and when no one is looking] a bit of crane shunting usually sorts it out, though some of my more eager operators will happily fall on the resulting Chinese puzzle and spend 20 mins or so sorting it out the proper way. The last couple of pictures show the yard at the end of the sequence, after which the fiddle yard needs rotating, so a new sequence can begin. I haven't included the railcar/railbus or excursion train, as these are simple 'out and back' movements which have been shown extensively elsewhere on the site. However, look out for a new chapter in my workbench section - there is still one spare track in the fiddle yard and I'm hoping my 'winter project' will fill that, eventually!

Been there, got the T shirt, Stephen - probably a whole drawer full by now. The most recent gremlin attack was at January's Orpington show, when a short on the points at the station throat effectively froze the whole layout. Given there are only 6 wires between baseboards 2 & 3, it was doubly frustrating. Took an hour to sort out & ended up cutting the wires to the two plug/sockets and hard soldering them. A lot easier to repair back on the workbench, instead of upside down under the layout! Thankfully, my other operator was able to chat to the public & it seems there was enough static interest on the layout to keep them amused - which is more than I was... Seems no matter how well you prepare, journeying to a show and unloading/setting up can still cause problems. The ones that annoy me are the 'built in' ones that the owner/operators of the layout haven't bothered to fix since the previous outing, or indeed at all. Not just the working bits either - saw a layout only this year that had clear footprints on the back scene! Like many things in life it can be a shame when we remember these more than the good bits, which out weigh the former many times over of course.

Thanks H - it is always nice to get something published and what is more you get a nice cheque for it too! While I'm here, might as well add the coal train pictures. This is the only time there are two trains on the layout. The theory is that 'Lark' [aka St Mologa] brings loaded coal wagons down from the mine & these are swapped with a stores train, brought up the 'mainline' by MGW E class 0-6-0T. The E arrives first, its short train comprising a carriage truck with a portable generator as a load, then an open wagon loaded with pit props, plus two more opens containing oil drums and drainage pipes. SLNCR brake van 6 brings up the rear. The E moves the train to the goods siding, then pushes the brake to the platform stop blocks & retires to the turntable siding, where it can take water from the tank. Lark then arrives with 5 loaded coal wagons. It runs round, picks up the stores wagons from the goods siding and then reverses this train on to the brake of the coal train. Once the latter is uncoupled\coupled, Lark can depart back up the mine branch. The E class can then come off the water tank and propel the loaded coal wagons back to the other brake, so it too can depart, this time for Sligo or wherever the fuel is needed. Perhaps one day, this will just be a short journey to the new power station being built on Lough Allen & eventually, it may even be diesel powered? At exhibitions, there is a reverse sequence to this, with Lark bringing an empty stores train down from the mine and the E class returning with coal empties. The coal loads [and the pit props] are removable, but at shows we rarely bother and so far, nobody has commented. Just goes to show that one can have too much detail, perhaps? See the upload has once again managed to put the photos in the wrong order. Hopefully folk can work out what the correct sequence should be.