David Holman

As soon as I started reading this, the first thing that came to mind was the almost impossible conversion from 16.5 to 21mm gauge. Diesels are fairly easy, but as others have said, with steam outline there is too much stuff to change. However, given the rapid growth of 7mm scale ready to run, is there a market for an Irish prototype in 36.75mm gauge? Probably only a handful of us working in this scale at the moment, but when you look at how well things like Terriers, 08s, 14XX, Jinties and several industrial locos have been selling, it seems clear there is a market based on those who have always fancied moving to a larger scale. Note too, these are all small locos, so you can build an interesting layout in not much more space than needed for an 00 one. Costs are very reasonable too - less than £200 in some cases, which is significantly less than a 00 J15. While I wouldn't necessarily advocate using British outline wagons, they are certainly easy to regauge - simply requiring wheels to be moved out to 34mm back to back. Track? Nothing too challenging, especially when Marcway will do custom made points for not much more than Peco. Yes, that is still expensive, but at least you can get away with needing only a few on a small layout. My votes would be for a J26, a G class Deutz and a C class diesel. You could build a very nice layout around any of all of these and have a lot of fun operating them too. Warning - 7mm scale can be very addictive, but is it any wonder?

Wagon load The MGWR mail train, while not exactly stuck, is awaiting the arrival of brass bar, for chimney and dome, plus the motor gearbox, so while waiting for paint to dry on the chassis, turned my attention to a Christmas present from Mrs H - namely an S&D kits model delivery van. Needless to say, I actually ordered it, then gave it to her to wrap for Christmas Day, but, hey it's what I wanted. Articles by Richard Chown on his Castle Rackrent system show a carriage truck complete with what looks like a pantechnicon as part of his 'mail goods' train - hence wanted to portray something similar on Belmullet. The S&D kit is a nice set of white metal castings, which go together really well and the only things you need to be careful with are the spring assemblies are a bit fragile, plus actual painting needs a bit of forward planning. As can be seen, the kit comes with a nice set of transfers for the 'Desborough Co-operative Society'. These are too good to ignore, so am assuming the delivery van is a secondhand model which has been picked up cheaply and destined for the local sign writer's workshop before becoming part of the local Co-op's fleet. The other pictures show my latest acquisition, for which thanks are due to Eoin-Murrayec of this parish, who pointed me in the direction of Arceurotrade, who sell an amazing array of engineering products - a fair few of which I have no idea what they do! I can guess what a ' two flute ball nose end mill' might be, likewise a 'wiggler and centre finder set', but as for for a 'blank end arbor, with morse taper' - not a clue. They do a range of books too, from basic to advanced lathe work, through to one just on 'Spindles' to another intriguingly titled 'The Backyard Foundry'. I never knew there was so much stuff I wanted... What I did actually buy was a set of 4mm lathe cutting tools. They arrived very promptly and come in a nice little wooden box too, all of which suggests quality.

Doesn't hang about, does he? Splendid, as ever.

Seem to remember reading somewhere that as steam haulage faded around the world, it was not unknown for professional photographers to ask crews to chuck car tyres in the firebox to improve smoke effects.

Not of me you won't!

Might just be me, but with some of my Humbrol and Precision enamels running low, or in a couple of tinlets gone solid, suddenly realised I can't just pop down to the local model shop. On top of that, an internet search reveals many colours are in short supply, while the fact that they cannot be sent through the post makes buying just a couple of tinlets very expensive - like £5.99 instead of £1.80 Hattons out of matt black, Precision out of metallic brass, while Humbrol don't seem to have certain colours like 'dirty black' or metalcote gunmetal any more. Anyone else having problems?

Solder balls - who'd have thought it? Certainly some clever folk out there. Thanks Angus.

The rate was over 1300 in my part of Kent recently, though in East Sheppey, they topped 2500. There are three prisons there though! By the by, the local accent there is known as 'Swampy', while a full 'sleeve' type tattoo is known as a 'Sheppey Arm Warmer' in these parts, so it's not just Kerrymen who come in for some stick!

Fine work and only goes to show how satisfying it is to make your own.

Yup, Xuron works on track just fine, but wouldn't want to use my NWSL Chopper on copperclad - the blade is just a safety razor blade. Copperclad is not that easy to cut. Doesn't like a craft knife, doesn't snap, takes time to saw and hence often use a slitting disc. Xuron cutter ok on thin pieces, but needs cleaning up with a file after.

Whatever works for you may be the answer. I've used 145 solder wire for years. A half kilo roll cost thirty quid ten years ago and replaced it for over fifty quid last year. However, seriously more expensive if you buy it by the metre! Though I tend to use 145 as my go to (because it flows really nicely), also have a stick of both 180 and 80 (low melt), plus the standard 240 wire with a flux core. When you are adding details with a kit, it helps to have different temperatures to work with. That said, rarely use low melt, as prefer 5 minute epoxy to fix castings, not least because this gives you time to adjust the position of each piece. Likewise, find wire solder easier to work with that stick. The purists would not doubt say you shouldn't carry solder to the work on the tip of your iron anyway, though am afraid old habits die hard!

Steam locos in the USA often burned oil, notably the Mallet 4-8-8-4 Big Boys. At over 560 tons, the fireman would not want to be shovelling coal on a beast like that!

As Noel says, "Respect". There's been more than a few times when I've been building locos and got to that nearly there stage only to find something's not right. However, the bullet has been well and truly bitten and well done you. Scary stuff, but worth it! The loco is well and truly emerging now and definitely looking the part.

A grand train on a grand layout!

Lovely bits of detailing, which really lift the model.

Things continue to move slowly on, but the list of stuff to do is getting shorter. Made the tender buffers today, so first up are a few photos of the lathe, with a piece of 6mm brass rod in place. At the risk of sounding like I know what I'm doing [hardly!], here's what I've discovered so far, so feel free to correct if you know better, I won't be offended. The right hand end is called the tailstock. On this mini lathe it amounts to a steel cone, with a pin point tip, which is set in a ball bearing. A wheel/handle at the right hand side moves this up to the piece of metal you are turning. This needs a small hole drilling in the centre and the cone in the tailstock is pushed into this and fixed with an Allen key. The business end of the lathe is the headstock and has a three jaw chuck/collet to hold the metal you are working. This is tightened by two short stainless steel rods. Needless to say, it pays to remove these before starting the lathe! Went there and got the T shirt early on. No harm done, but lesson learned. Between the head and tailstocks is the 'bed' and in front of this is the small table, which holds the cutting tool - in this case, a piece of hardened 4mm square steel, ground to a cutting edge. Many thanks to Eoin/Murrayec for pointing me in the direction of getting additional cutters [see previous posts]. The cutting tool can be moved in and out and side to side by two hand wheels, rather like the GW Models rivet press and like the latter, one full turn of each wheel equals 1mm of travel. However, because this is a fairly cheap and cheerful lathe, there is a bit of slack in the wheels, so cutting is not 100% accurate and you are relying on your eyes as much as anything, plus stopping regularly to check measurements with a vernier gauge. I also use files to finish surfaces, though with the headstock spinning at 2000rpm next to your fingers, this certainly requires care. Indeed, using the lathe certainly demands respect. I must admit that some of my modelling tends to be a bit cavalier at times, so the new lathe is forcing me to take my time, wear eye protectors and think things through a bit more. No bad thing then. The other photos show what else has been going on: On the boiler, have fettled a white metal, safety valve casting to the appropriate shape and added the operating lever from the cab from a piece of NS. Inside the cab, a piece of plasticard has been fashioned & scribed for wood planking for the floor A hinged 'fall plate' has been made from some 10 thou NS, with a piece of brass tube soldered to it. Two split pins have been set into the end of the footplate and a piece of NS wire goes through these and the brass tube, to make the hinge. On the tender itself, the spring hangers have been added from micro strip, fixed with cyano, while more plastic sheet has been used to make the front of the tender. Looking photos, it seems that wooden planks form the front face and surround the coal chute Finally, for now, made a tender brake stand from a piece of copper tube, into which a white metal casting for the handle has been fitted. So, getting there and have just heard from ABC that a motor/gearbox is on its way, so hopefully will be able to get that fitted soon, along with pickups, wiring and so on. Still waiting for thicker brass bar for the chimney and dome though.

Indeed. Point timbers could be 12 inches wide, whereas plain track usually had nine inch timbers.

Thought he did. Wonder if it is still available? Suspect the main problem will be working out how to fit a mechanism - although at least the sidetanks will help.

Have worked my way through to the tank engines section and the intriguing notes about 0-4-2T Sprite and its Pay Carriage. It appears that for pretty much any layout depicting the period 1873 to 1927 (ok, probably not many!), a model is essential. The combo ran 1.2 million miles on a two week circuit of the whole GSWR system. It was on the road six days a week from 7am to 4.30pm. Remarkable for an engine weighing only 21 tons and with a tractive effort of just over 2000lb. The fact that it appeared in Sligo every other Thursday has inevitably got me thinking about building a model for Belmullet, although not until the mail train project is completed of course! Then there is Pat, the 0-2-2 tractor built for the overhead gantry in Cork. Tractive effort is stated as 495lbs. One wonders how it managed to pull itself along, nevermind the 120 tons of coal that was it's day job.

Apart from the sharp curves, there looks to be plenty of operation potential here, with up to five sidings to give traffic variety. My exhibition layouts keep me amused with just a loop and two sidings, plus another deemed off scene, so should be lots of fun to be had here. Enjoy!

Good advice! Alternatively, depending very much on the overall plan, consider building a specific section like a branch terminus, then gradually add other sections as you go along. Cyril had some great ideas for track plans, though if your preference is more for freight traffic, look at Iain Rice's diagrams. Cyril preferred passenger traffic on most of his and was happy with tight curves too.

Slow progress on the D16, as is often the case with detailing. Many thanks to those who have provided help with info on the tender, especially Leslie [of the Syndicate] and Mayner. I think I've got the general idea for the front, though it still needs the timber cladding to be added. The overall shape is quite complex, so much faffing about has gone on with various shapes cut from thin brass and nickel silver. Other tender detailing has included the axles boxes and springs. The former came from butchered white metal wagon W irons, while the latter came from the scrapbox. Neither are perfect, but hopefully pass muster for now. The loco buffers are the result of my first experiments with the new lathe. The main body is 6mm brass tube first tapered with the cutting tool, then finished with files and sanding sticks.. Next drilled the narrow end to take 1.6mm brass tube, which was itself drilled out 1.2mm to take a drawing pin for the actual buffer head. This was turned down to 8mm diameter using files in the chuck of a mini drill. Crude, but it seems to work. This assembly was then soldered to a square of brass, with a rivet punched in each corner and then the whole thing stuck to the buffer beam with 5 minute epoxy. Am quite pleased with the result, not least because it shows how a complex shape can be created by breaking it down into basic sub sections. However, the buffers are nearly a scale two feet long overall, which caused a minor panic when I tried the loco and tender on the turntable. As can be seen from the photos, clearances are [very] tight, but it will just fit - albeit invoking the Westport rule again as, like that prototype, the loco will foul the running line when being turned.

I'm terrified of Ikea as a whole for the same reason.

Very much the Beyer Peacock face. Those rivets just keep on coming, don't they!

All gleaned from the good Mr Gravett. If you've seen Arun Quay, you'd never believe there was a join down the middle, such is the way he's used the car body filler. There's always Iain Rice's jigsaw joins, but they don't lend themselves to crating up for transport.