David Holman

Nice new viewing angles - very much like from the footbridge

Going through the Green Bible, we have:-- pretty much all the 2-4-0, 2-4-2 and 4-4-2 tanks - no splashers, with drivers inside side tanks J28 and J27- tiny Hunslets The 4-8-0T The Bandon 4-6-0T 2-4-0T and 4-4-0T St Mologa K1 2-6-0 And it is the same problem in the GNRI Blue Bible - four coupled tanks and that is it. Just so many splashers making re-gauging awkward.

A sensible option for a steam loco would be one without splashers, so conversion to or from 16.5 to 21mm. Am now trying to think of one!

Nice one! A job I certainly need to do is get rid of that hideous pile of coal on the 'bonnet'. Photos very much suggest they just had a loose pile of it on the cab floor.

Love those roof trusses.

To echo Mayner, always best to use supplementary polarity change switches on all Peco points. Even the 0 gauge ones on our club layout need them.

Companies falling over themselves to produce decidedly niche models at the moment it seems, exemplified by two different Titfield Thunderbolt models coming out soon, to say nothing of all the pioneer diesels and the revival of TT. Might be a while before there is a Hibernia train set, but a John Wayne revival might result in a J15.

Starting to gild the lily.

Fascinating stuff, as ever! Meanwhile, in the prototype for everything department, nice to see where the cab handrail protrudes inside, just like the wire does on my models!

Gordon did indeed build model ships as his day job, working for a firm that made large scale models for shipping companies and so on. I was wrong about the rigging on the 2mm model though - that is there too. I think he must have a tame spider to do it. Articles in MRJ about the ships and a beautiful model he made of a French metre gauge loco, plus numerous tributes to Iain Rice.

A couple of distractions came my way this week. The first was the latest copy of Model Railway Journal, which arrived by post on Monday. On the front cover is a fine picture of one of Gordon Gravett's recent creations - a pair of Somerset and Dorset Colliers, one in 4mm scale and one in 2mm. I can take a [very] small amount of credit for these, after sending Gordon a photo of VIC96 in Chatham Marina, though he'd been thinking about building one for ages, while the 2mm scale version was built for another master modeller, Jerry Clifford. A bit bigger than a VIC and certainly over 30 feet longer than a Puffer, the heritage is clear to see from both. Needless to say, both models are completely scratchbuilt and stunningly good in the flesh, as anyone who went to this year's Uckfield show will testify. However, what also stands out is that Gordon has included ALL the rigging, for the mast, derrick, anchor, etc, etc. I hadn't really appreciated this at Uckfield, but now, haven't done a very limited, hamfisted version on Acla am feeling somewhat inadequate at his exquisite work. This is 4mm scale, remember - though I don't think he's done anything like as much on the 2mm version, so the man is human after all... The other distraction came from the Chatham Model Club, when I decided to liberate an old SMR model of a Sentinel shunter, to see if was possible to regauge it to 5'3. We must have had it for at least ten years, maybe more. It's a good little runner, with belt drive giving four wheel drive, so surprisingly powerful too. Seem to remember they only cost about £100 & obviously were the precursor of the current Dapol model. Why a Sentinel? Well those of you who know your Green Bible will realise the GSR bought two standard Sentinels, which variously worked in Cork, Tralee and [especially] on the Limerick Market Branch. Not out of the question therefore to think that one might have made its way to Northport Quay as the resident shunter and the temptation to acquire an [almost] ready to run loco is another of those itches that has needed scratching for a while now. Turns out that all that is needed to regauge the model is to tweak the wheels out to 34mm back to back and then adjust the pick ups so they still touch the wheels. Just as well, because the axles are very much not standard diameter, so best not messed with. The only other thing needed was to grind a bit off the back of the axle boxes, though a fair bit of cosmetic work to the body will be needed to make the guard irons line up, along with a few other improvements too. Probably best if I asked the Club if I can have it before I go any further though! I'm well aware that this SMR model is far from perfect. The wheels don't line up with the axle boxes for one thing, while best not to compare it too closely with the two Limerick shunters. Nevertheless, the Green Bible opines that it is perhaps a bit odd that GSR/CIE didn't go for a few more of these little engines, especially during the various fuel shortages, so I will not feel in the least bit guilty if this one eventually appears on Northport Quay's roster. Could make a basis for a nice little 7mm scale cameo layout too - one was tried out on the Castleisland branch, a sort of steam powered Deutz G class diesel. Any takers? The Dapol one can be got for around £100 or so, though I have no idea if it can be regauged in the same way.

Looking into both - including an email to Gordon. If anyone knows, it's him!

Build my own track, Ray so assume you can cut the wires - after all, you can always solder them back.

No electrician Ray, but have always used live frog points and as far as the third question is concerned a live frog point will isolate a loco if switched against it. So you are correct.

A mixture of crabs, flat fish and silvery fish, Leslie! Courtesy of Skytrex Models, as is most of the other cargo.

With the missus laid up with a broken foot for at least a couple of weeks [no, she didn't kick me, nor me her], apart from being chief cook, bottle washer and general dogsbody, there has at least been time for multiple short modelling sessions in between the chores. A good chance therefore to experiment with some weathering of various kinds. Weathering in more ways than one, as I've attempted to create things like seaweed and the green patina you get on sea walls. Various acrylic washes seemed to be the way to go, but also noticed there can be orange brown stains [rust?] higher up. Got a bit heavy handed with this, but found that I could sand it back with some fine wet'n'dry. Seaweed comes in various colours [you can Google pretty much anything of course], so went for my finest grade of dark green crumb along the join between water & quay wall, with strands of weed done with long static grass fibres, flattened down & held with dilute pva. Not sure about this at the moment & may well need longer [& thicker] fibres, like painted sisal perhaps? The Acla has received a bit of weathering too - a mixture of dry brushed rust coloured acrylic and weathering powders. It may need a bit more, or even some of the powders removed. I find such things need going back to multiple times before I'm happy, so the last few days [and the next few!] are ideal for this sort of thing. Finally, felt a figure was needed amongst the cargo on the right hand quay and found a nice one of a chap leaning against something, holding a mug of tea.

A seasonal favourite round here is a store that do Christmas Reefs - this is the land of Estuary English, after all! Technically speaking, I fink reefs ought to have multiple 'f's [you hear of lot of those too], while on Sheppey, where they speak a sub-dialect, known as Swampy, there are many more, richer varieties...

Likewise! These days, when I go into Currys, I find that that not only do I not understand what I'm looking at, I actually don't care much either. Equally, I certainly applaud the 3D printers, because am always impressed with anything I cannot currently do. However, this bit of old school modelling shows what can be done and is all about breaking a component down into basic shapes and going from there. Love it!

Yep, good fun. Creating that world where our modelling resides definitely enriches satisfaction and helps bring the model to life.

Thanks folks - much of what I do is inspired by everyone else on this forum.

After several workshop posts, thought it was time to look again at the layout as a whole. Various small bits of work have been going on, notably painting, positioning & fixing of various scenic items, mainly to try and create a busier quayside, with various cargoes ready to load/unload. Several figures have been relocated from the platform on Belmullet/Northport, where, with the layout being turned round are no longer easily visible. The rather portly, dishevelled looking gentleman is a bit of a favourite, while readers of the Arigna/Belmullet threads may remember what happened when I went on line to look up details for painting the two nuns - suffice to say the search also threw up some interesting options for dressing up at the weekends! Another figure is the fishmonger, or maybe he is a high end restauranteur [sort of Irish Rick Stein], looking at the latest catch? The Acla has also received a bit more attention, with mooring ropes toned down to look less bright. It still needs some weathering though. In the general scheme of things, the left hand siding, nearest the tunnel, will only ever hold open wagons, so as not to block the view with taller vans. Hence there are lot of barrels waiting on the quayside, along with a few smaller packing cases. The track in front of this siding is where the rail mounted crane will be, so it is important to leave this space clear. The Irish Shell tank wagon may well be for fuelling local fishing boats. Similarly, the right hand siding, behind the Acla, is actually more of a shunting neck, to allow wagons from the off stage pier to be swapped with those from an incoming freight. Hence this needs to be left clear, which is why the various bits of loose cargo are stacked between the siding and the 'main line'. Given the recent Railcar thread, it was hard not to resist including Railcar 2b, though where it gets turned is current still a mystery!

Walkers of Wigan certainly seemed to go their own way with railcar design, especially when almost everyone else was doing the conventional thing with a cab at each end and underfloor motors. But hey, it worked and some of their products ran up astonishing mileage. I guess that because they used fairly conventional practice, purchase costs were kept down, though the lack of being able to work in multiple meant the Donegal were paying three or more drivers on some of their special trains. Then there was the fact that early railcars couldn't run back to back in pairs, presumably because they only had a single reverse gear. The Colonel Stephens railcars had the same problem, with the rear facing one needing to be towed, in neutral. All sorts of weird stuff, from roof mounted driving cabs to Howden-Meredith patent wheels, but what a delight for historians and modellers!

Now we know why there is a sudden world shortage of bulldog clips.

Master modeller Gordon Gravett has been using this method for years, so you are in good company - though he mainly works in 7mm scale. Cutting window frames 0.3mm wide seems bonkers to me! Respect!

Can't open the videos on my tablet, but if it is not possible to separate tender body from chassis, can a hole be cut in the underside? Alternatively, liquid lead, held in place with 5 minute epoxy should do the job in terms of filling nooks and crannies on the underside without making any holes.