David Holman

Good kit, with a clever six wheel compensation system. Should you want to build it in 5'3, the axles on Slater's wheels are plenty long enough to move them out to 34mm back to backs.

The wows keep coming, Alan! Reminds me I've got one of those jigs somewhere. Very handy when I remember to use it...

Lovely clean lines and coming on really well.

How can it steal chips with no eyes? Seriously though, in 4mm scale, the model is many times smaller than in the photo!

Definitely worth all the effort!

Agreed, though if you checkout my workshop thread, you'll see I've been scratchbuilding in 7mm scale, 36.75mm and 21mm gauge for many years. Love seeing other folks creativity, so great to see what you are up to.

Splendid stuff. Not sure whether it is a case of alchemy or witchcraft, but either way shows what can be done.

With the next outing at the Chatham Show less than a month away, attention has turned to getting the layout ready. Managed to find some Code 83 rail down at the club, so the track table in the fiddle yard is now dual gauge throughout. Decided to paint the whole lot in white emulsion, in the hope that any loose bits and pieces would easily show up and perhaps also make putting stock on easier. We'll see. A mundane, but important bit of kit for any exhibition layout is a shelf for the drinks mug. However, with a front operated layout, this limits the options. I already have one simple shelf which can go on the far end of the layout, easily added via quick mount plates. After much thought, realised I could add one for the operator by putting it inside the fiddle yard frames. Ok, the train table needs to be slid over a little to allow access, but figure that doing it this way, keeps drinks out of the way. Finally found a use for my Dremel saw, which works fine with plywood, but is hopeless with what I bought it for, namely cutting thin brass and nickel silver. The saw itself is ok, but the blades supplied are useless and break far too easily. Anyway, managed to cut up some pieces of 6mm ply and then cut a hole for a coffee mug. All a bit rough and ready, but hopefully the Chatham Show will prove how well it works.

Back dating, to cover more than one period, is always an option, once the 1940s are covered and I do like the Donegal 4-6-0Ts!

Better than grabbing hold of the hot end - too many T shirts in the drawer for that one. And it's not as if it doesn't hurt! Seriously fine work, Alan and speaking of pain, feel for you over that gear set too. High Level are my go to for all narrow gauge stuff, but while the quality is not in dispute, I much prefer all metal gears for reasons you describe. Managed to ruin a set of HL with the cyano you are expected to use to fix them in place, while those tiny grub screws are a nightmare! Once done, they are great, but a ready to run 7mm box from Premier Components is far less hassle.

Surprised to read of your issues. Older Lima stuff certainly has deep flanges that require code 100 rail, but current models should be fine on code 75. Might be worth carefully checking all wheels, just in case a bit of crud is causing the problem. Likewise, if the track has been blasted maybe it needs checking too?

Thanks Colin. Have indeed wondered about that possible amalgamation, not least because of how drab the Swilly coaches looked compared to the Donegal's. Locos another matter, especially the very fine dark green. Suspect the Donegal would have rapidly dieselised things, with railcars taking over much of the passenger work, as per their own system. Equally, it is still under consideration, though the option of having a range of liveries remains attractive - especially with a yet to be decided one for the tramway.

No idea 're large scale semaphores, but adapting or even scratchbuilding colour lights might be the way?

4mm scale three links can be tricky. One option is to fit a slightly larger end link. Another is to use the Smiths three links which have the latter and a more open hook. If you are happy to have wagons in semi permanent rakes, use three links between these and something else on the end of each rake and your locos. Three links look so much better, but all couplings are a compromise!

Yep, hence the rebuild, Don. Have used cassettes extensively in the past and found they work best when there was a separate loco cassette so the actual train only needed sliding from side to side, with just the loco lifted and moved to the other end.

Climate change and railway modelling! Modern image folk seem to have new challenges - pot holes, flash flooding and storms. DCC control for any of these? Seem to remember there was a gizmo to make a tree fall down a while back, though must have looked very odd in reverse...

A 21mm one would be good too, because proportionately wider body width make failing very tricky with bogie stock.

Surface texture too, with 600 grit wet and dry paper more than enough. Alternatively talc on dark grey enamel paint works well - even in 7mm scale. Were there as many pot holes back in the day, compared to now?

Further on line research suggests that the unlikely named Downings would make a better destination for my tramway. Beyond Carrigart, its safe harbour once had a significant herring fleet and given that Burtonport still only has a population of under 400 today, makes me think it could have been at least as viable. Fish traffic would have decreased significantly into the 20th century, but the Emergency and likely poor roads (as per the Burtonport line) should have ensured survival until the late 1940s. Which is enough for my bit of fiction. The idea of Ramelton being served by three different railways - Swilly, Donegal and tramway - is admittedly more than a bit contrived, but the different liveries would make for a colourful scene. By the 1940s, don't suppose any of the lines would be offering more than two or three trains a day, but make it market or Fair day and a timetable adapted from actual Swilly and Donegal timings at Letterkenny could make for a decent sequence.

Apart from the size of the layout itself [just 2m x 0.5m], the turntable is only big enough for the Barclay and Kerr Stuart tanks; likewise Railcar 10. Would that I had the space for more!

Go carefully! Essentially, avoid getting glue around the tie bar, or you'll gum everything up.

I have a 2019 ABC which says there were 179 still around, including 11 09s. The Lima 08 is a useful model for 7mm narrow gauge, not least because of the outside cranks. The pancake motor can take a bit of disguising, but on the other hand the crank pins unscrew easily, enabling you to add con rods to outside cylinders. Runs well enough too, albeit not at the same level as the later Hornby ones.

Two new posts on the same day? Don't know what the weather is doing over the water, but in this corner of Blighty, it is still April - windy, with hefty showers involving cats, dogs and donkeys. So, a bit of footy and cricket [thank you Australia], as background to some more modelling. Phoenix has taken quite a while to paint, because no sooner did I tidy up a bit of black then was noticing cream and/or red then needed attention. After that, it needed its name adding, along with the number plates. The latter, being Number 11, was readily made from bits of plastic sheet and strip. My Slater's plastic numbers fret has become rather brittle, so just as well only '1's are needed, followed by a red background then brass coloured paint for the raised bits. Lettering is from a set of transfers that have been lurking in a folder for many years. Unfortunately, each letter has a significant carrier film which can be seen in some lighting conditions. Couplings and weathering are still missing & Phoenix got pretty filthy at times, so that is something I'll need to psyche myself up for. Something else that needed finishing off while the paints were out are two 'red vans'. These were ex Clogher vehicles, used with the Railcars. Mine are resin cast bodies I did several years ago, mated to Branchlines wagon chassis. Have fitted larger wheels, as per Donegal practice, because they initially didn't ride well on the CVR 2 foot ones, especially at the much higher speeds involved. Lettering is just white gel pen and again, couplings and weathering are yet to be applied. These vans only went up to number 23, so given my two have different strapping to ones seen in photos, have given them 24 and 25.

West Donegal Railways A recent comment about the fate of other CVR stock following the 'closure' of Fintonagh has set me thinking. Railcar, Unit and Tractor are all going to its new incarnation as a Donegal/Swilly branch from Letterkenny to Ramelton & likewise some of the wagons - but what of the other stuff? Well, the two bogie coaches have been bought by a friend for his layout, but have been mulling over what to do with the Sharp Stewart 0-4-2Ts. Prefer to keep them, but how might they be used? Regular readers of my ramblings will know that I am not averse to major changes of railway history, while for Belmullet, I even suggested that a small alteration in sea levels after the last ice age would make the peninsula into an island. Works for me, anyway... Baldrick's latest cunning plan came from a browse through Gordon Gravett's book on the Reseau Breton, a metre gauge system in Brittany. Now, this area has much in common with parts of Ireland & the map below shows significant railway development across the area, with new lines being built right up to the First World War. I've also been re reading Martin Bairstow's series of five books covering Irish Railways & the two started the germ of an idea: Ramelton has a population of over 2000 today, while the neighbouring villages of Milford and Rathmullan come in at 1000 and 500 respectively. At the end of the 19th century places like this were often fair game for a narrow gauge line - Schull & Skibbereen for example, so why not have a roadside tramway linking the three? Adjust the effects of the Potato Famine and subsequent migrations to be less dramatic [nothing compared to changing the outcome of the Ice Age!] and there is every chance of a larger population remaining in the area & hence wanting a railway. So, what might this do to Fintonagh? Not a lot, as it happens. The plan below shows how things might alter, with just a new section of back scene and a couple of new buildings - highlighted in green. For the tramway, all I'm thinking is so shorten the front siding to make way for an extended loading dock to become a bay. Stock wise, I wouldn't want much & it would be a case of either getting another Branchlines CVR bogie kit, or use the Alphagraphix card kits of the Schull & Skibbereen four wheel coaches as a starting point. The new fiddle yard has five roads, with two of these allocated to my new Lough Swilly stock. The third will be for the Donegal Railcars [10 & 8], with the fourth for the Unit & a light goods train. The fifth will therefore hold the Milford & Rathmullan tram, plus Phoenix [acting as station pilot] and a few wagons. As is my wont, the main goods yard is deemed to be off scene, via the track exiting at the front of the layout. This will also be the exit for the Tram, while Donegal and Swilly trains will use the rear exit. Should make for a busy scene & I'll certainly need to add a couple of isolating sections to enable two trains to be on scene at once, but at the moment, it is feeling like a neat way to use the two CVR locos and a a bit more of existing stock. An opportunity to invent a history of the Tramway, plus liveries & so on too - more of which anon. Assuming I don't come up with another harebrained scheme in the meantime that is.

Always nice when a hand built chassis does as it is supposed to! Very neat.