David Holman

A round file works best for me, but no reason why a remember shouldn't do the same.

Two days hard work on the turntable - some of it tidying up some less than perfect work done before... Firstly, found that the well rail had not set in a proper circle, while it turned out that I'd also located it too close to the wall. Chance to practice some new combinations of rude words, after which the rail had to be removed and repositioned 1.5mm inboard. Did this by cementing two circles of 60thou plastic strip at the base of the wall, so the rail and sleepers could go against this. Now means the brackets holding the deck rollers in place do not scrape against the wall, so the deck turns quite nicely now [!]. Replaced the white metal rollers with some 11mm diameter ball bearings, which likewise improves the running. Ordered these from the web on Tuesday afternoon and they arrived in the post on Wednesday morning. I also had to cut away the ends of the deck girders, as I could not see what the rollers were doing; these can be replaced when I add the cosmetic detail. The most head scratching and brow furrowing went into mounting and mechanising the deck. My biggest concern is that the drive axle [4BA studding] is only fixed to the deck by a nut, while the base of the well is only 10mm thick, so there was room for a fair degree of slop as well as a very high chance of the deck coming loose. Hopefully cured the latter befitting a nut underneath, as well as on top of the deck, with some Loctitie 630 in the threads for added insurance. As long as the deck is turned clockwise the top nut tightens against the lower one. Meanwhile, underneath the well have added an aluminium strip, drilled 5mm to support the studding, in a piece of brass tube, which [fingers crossed] stops it wobbling around. Extra Meccanno plates do the same for the crank handle, as seen in the third picture. This afternoon, added rail to the deck, on longitudinal sleepers, then made up some half track to link the TT to the loco shed.

Hate brake blocks! The van is coming on nicely though.

Sometimes a brief pause while you are winning is a good idea. Still fancy that it will be the coupling rod holes that need opening a little. I've only ever used a pair of fine nosed pliers to tighten crankpin nuts, with a dab of nail varnish, not pink though, to hold them in place. More of a pain for mean are the Slater's wheel nuts. Find that the allen key doesn't always tighten them fully and before every show now I check for wobbly wheels.

The worst example I've come across, thankfully cured now, was the Tonbridge show. The sports hall lights could be described as sodium - yellow street lamps and the effect on an unlit layout's colours was interesting, to say the least! Spotlights certainly need handling with care, as Broithe says above. The main thing is to avoid unwanted shadows; LED strips are great for this, providing a very even light, but what ever is used, the main thing to remember is it should be the same light as you do any painting under - otherwise, the colours can end up looking very different to what was intended.

Not sure about being an expert, as I mainly copy the likes of Iain Rice and Gordon Gravett. Nevertheless, the Rice concept works really well, as I use it on Fintonagh. The pelmet is arranged to be about 2cm beyond the front edge of the layout and has a strip of LEDs (cool white) just inside. The second strip of LEDs is about two thirds of the way back. The latter provides overall, even lighting and avoids shadows on the backscene. The front strip ensures there are now shadows on any models closest to the he viewers. Meanwhile the two sides which support the pelmet (painted the same colour as the baseboard frames) act like a picture frame to separate the layout from the surrounding area. At a show, this can include the backs of other layouts, operators, coffee mugs etc, as well as enclosing the lighting too. It is REALLY noticeable at shows when layouts have little or no lighting, especially when the hall lighting is poor, or simply just different from that used at home.

He does say Sir Henry was running and riding really well at the time, but I also wondered if 60 was a typo and it was actually 50.

Different, to say the least and well down the list of potential ready to run models, methinks! May be odd, but the modelling certainly isn't. Another classy build going on here.

Neil Sprinks history of the SLNCR notes several 'might have beens', not least a branch down to the Arigna mines, for which there were a couple of proposed routes. Had the one down the west side of Lough Allen been built, it would have gone past the eventual site of the power station which took all the Arigna coal from 1959. The branch would have been wholly in the Republic, while the power station stayed open until the early '90s. Hence an Arigna branch may well have kept the later 0-6-4Ts going into the '60s, before Baldwin power took over, with maybe a G, plus Railcar B, of course. All in my Arigna Town thread and was tempted to pursue the dieselisation theme for a while. There was also a proposal for a line to Swalinbar and beyond, plus there is the 2-6-6-2 Garrett that Beyer Peacock offered. Somebody has built one in 7mm scale, but am guessing 2FS might be a bit of a challenge, though I do have a drawing if anyone is interested! On a different note, managed to get a secondhand copy of Colin Boocock's Irish Railway Album at a show last weekend. In the short section on the Sligo he writes that Sir Henry reached 60mph between Collooney and Sligo on the 7.40pm mixed from Enniskillen. Given the nature of the train itself, even though the cattle wagons had been detached, 60mph with 4'9" drivers seems a bit fanciful. Any truth in this?

Conversion of the real thing to broad gauge wasn't easy. Apparently, they had to turn the wheels down to fit inside the splashers - the opposite of modellers thinning the insides of splashers and bodywork so over thick wheels will fit. Another thought re motive power would be via visitors from the south (as per Arigna Town). Not sure whether any 2mm diesel bodies are available (3D printing?), for A, C or Baldwin's, but the latest RM has an article where a Lima 33 was converted to an A in 7mm scale, so in 2mm a passable likeness ought to be more than possible?

Eoin's probably the man for this, but tight spots when adding coupling rods are pretty common. Indeed the only time I don't get them is when scratch building a chassis when the rods are used to drill out the axle holes in the frames - hence everything lines up. However, two axles are easier than three and it is probably just as case of reaming the coupling rod holes a little at a time until they turn smoothly.

LEDs worth a try, you can get short strips for interiors that only need a simple 12v supply. Have also used LED strip for layout lighting for several years now. Try LED Hut [find them on Google], the service is excellent. The 'cool white' strips I use on Fintonagh seem to work well. They come on a self adhesive roll that can be fixed to the front pelmet, plus they can also be put in extruded aluminium strip to go over the back of the layout.

New Turntable Argna Town's turntable was a much breathed on [and sworn at] Dapol/Airfix kit, which cost me the princely sum of £5. I made it underslung, added a Freezinghall Models hand cranked turning mechanism [essentially some bits of Meccano] and it generally worked well for over 30 shows. However, for the Belmullet rebuild I wanted something a bit more robust. I thought I'd found it in the form of Kitwood Models 10.5" laser cut kit. It looks a really good product, though I was told by the proprietor that it might not be strong enough for my 7mm scale locos. Nevertheless, I still wanted to have a go, but have been waiting since May for the kit to be available - something to do with the motors not being ready yet. Indeed, the website currently says 'available September'. Hmm... However, at the Uckfield show last weekend, I suddenly remembered that South Eastern Finecast do a turntable kit and a chat with them on their stand quickly found they did indeed have one for sale. Intended as a replacement for the Dapol/Airfix kit, you can even use the latter's deck parts if you want, while the base [made from a strong looking single black plastic moulding fits exactly the same sized hole as the Dapol/Airfix one. This last fact became a bit of a no brainer, so I shelled out £50 there and then for the kit. The first job was to cut away the surrounding plastic, to leave the circular well which then dropped neatly into place. The rim of the well has brick/stonework moulded on, while the base has a small ball bearing moulded in the centre to take the pivot. The deck is a pice of 2mm thick paxolin, while a range of while metal castings make up things like spacers, bearing wheels and so on. Electrical pick up for the track comes from phosphor bronze wiper pickups touching brass screws in the base. The deck girders are a bit disappointing though, being flimsy vacuum mouldings. I therefore decided to make a new set of girders from 80 thou [2mm] plastic sheet. This has been glued to the deck with 5 minute epoxy, making a strong, rigid structure, albeit as yet undetailed. It will eventually be modelled on the one at the junction for the Ballahagadereen brach [see picture]. The decking girders are intended to run on flangeless, white metal wheel castings, but in the interests of smooth running, I will replace these with miniature ball bearings. The 'track' they run on is cut from a length of Peco Code 75 flat bottomed track. I simply cut it down the middle with strong scissors and then using Pi x diameter got the right length of 81cm. The single rail and sleepers sit neatly against the wall of the well and is held in place with impact adhesive. So far, so good. However, I am currently having problems getting the deck to rotate smoothly, as the paxolin is slightly too big for the well and needs filing back a little. I am also suspicious of the instructions, which suggest using Romford 40:1 gears and 3/32" rod for a hand cranked mechanism. This seems far too flimsy for my 7mm scale locos, so am hoping to use the Freezinghall mechanism again. A further problem is there is scant information in the instructions about how the deck girders are to be fixed to the central pivot. The latter is 4BA studding, with just a nut to hold it to the deck. As far as I can see, there is zero chance of that working, so am hoping that a combination of 24 hour Aradite and Loctite 630 jointing compound in the threads [top and bottom, will do the trick. Will certainly be interested to hear of any other ideas & the final picture might help as it is the exploded diagram of the whole kit.

Always a good feeling to know the chassis of a loco kit is going well!

Like how the aerial view shows the geography of the scene. Am sure the depth of it is also why it works well. In 7mm scale I'd need about five feet to do that!

Great to see general pics of the layout, not surprised IRM wanted to show their locos on it. A fine combination! As for the Deltic, growing up on the East coast main line at Newark, saw all of them, many times, in my spotting days and it was always a treat going to/from college in London to have a Deltic instead of the ubiquitous 47s. Most memorable run was on the Aberdeen mail out of Kings Cross. Loaded to 15 bogies, around 500 tons, it did Grantham to Newark (14 miles or so), in just over 12 minutes, start to stop. The howl of the twin engines going through Peascliffe tunnel from the first coach (window down of course!), was incredible. Was convinced it wasn't going to stop at Newark and I'd have to find my way back from Retford, but a very late brake application got me home. It was a fine piece of driving and the loco really must have been on the limit. Regularly timed them at over 100mph and seem to recall up to 110 wasn't unusual in Railway Magazine reports.

Nice one! The addition of a front view blocker works really well in the pictures and puts the whole scene in its proper context. In some ways a bold move to put the focus of the diorama further back, but for me it balances the scene and frames it so the viewer is on the platform, looking in and everything appears bigger too.

For the Irish scene, you will eventually be stymied once you get to a 2-10-0!

For me, nothing says Irish railways better than 21mm or 36.75mm track. The Peco code 75 certainly looks so much better than code 100 though, especially if you can keep to a low viewing angle. See Patrick's layout thread for that. However, would still say doing 21mm is worth a try. Plain track is easy to make using C&L components, while points could be custom made by the likes of Marcway, or again have a go yourself with C&L. The only thing you'd need to find/have made is a suitable roller gauge. 21mm is not about P4 either, finescale 00 clearances (one mm flange ways) will be fine. One point and a couple of lengths of plain track should only take a couple of hours using C&L parts, with no soldering required either. Worth thinking about.

Certainly looks the part.

A GNRI 2-4-2T? Nice prototype and what looks like a fairly simple chassis. Am guessing the leading and trailing wheels will require a fair bit of sideplay, though two coupled axles should be easier than three. A logical progression from a single, methinks! Have built several Alphagraphix Tyrconnel kits and though fairly basic, they seem to go together nicely, so will look forward to seeing progress.

That is going to be a very impressive rake.

In this month's Continental Modeller, there is an article doing a cut and shut with a Britannia to create a freelance South African Pacific. All about character and this model has plenty and even if it is freelance, it really looks the part. The large scale WW1 trench layout also features.

All that is needed for curved edges is some thicker microstrip, say 80 or 100 thou, welded to the inside seams. This means you can then file and sand radiuses edges and corners with any fear of making holes in the sides. There again, the were square edged tanks, so either will do.

Some video footage of Fintonagh at the recent EuroEx show in Birmingham. Fintonagh is at about 16-17 minutes, but there is some nice footage of the other layouts, including the large scale WW1 trenches depot.