Horsetan

I'd be calling it muscular rather than elegant.

The detached front bogie on the Flying Scotsman is literally just a matter of a shouldered brass screw (8BA, I think), and it should be possible to buy one from a spares specialist like Peter's Spares. For avoidance of doubt, this is the tender-drive Scotsman in its original right-hand-drive A1 form, produced in the old Margate factory. The Ringfield motor is shared with the A4 of the same generation. The Gresley coaches weren't bad for their day - certainly the first time a "teak" finish had been tried on a mass-produced plastic coach. There's a mad fella - Graeme King - on the LNER Forum who stumbled across the idea of converting them into the earlier Howlden-design clerestories, and did a grand job of them. The Lima HO diesel shunter is a freelance design - I remember having one as a kid. For a shunter, it wasn't very good at crawling speed. Although made in Italy, it bears the emblem of the French SNCF (as does the coach), just one of a number of different badges they turned the poor thing out in over the years.

Just look at the power contained in that front end. He's really got it right.

I read recently that the RPSI have abandoned any hope of bringing 171 back into steam this year (something to do with the implications of having all three surviving GNRI engines running all at once, and the consequences that will have on the budget when they all fall due for their next overhauls), and apparently it may be a few years before she returns to the rails of Ireland. Shame, really, as the whole prospect seemed to be going really well. What would it cost to build a new full-size "VS", engine only? 171 being laid aside gives me a bit of a breather, and a sporting chance of going on with my own build. The next stage I anticipate doing is the overlay for the cab front, plus the front frame sections above the footplate. The smokebox overlay and firebox will also need tidying up, now that I look at them. In respect of the mainframes, I'd like to thank "Kirley" of this diocese for letting me have the leftover 21mm gauge spacers from his SG2 build. The nickel silver set are for the engine, whilst the brass ones are for the tender; initial checks show that these are exactly 16mm wide, matching the Maplin plastic hex spacers that I've been using to help the basic erection. Another spot of luck.

Er....have ye not contradicted yourself there? CDR in dire straits, yet more profitable than the GSR? *scratches head, puzzled*

Just another form of calling each other's bluff.

That is rather neat. Des, do I detect plans for a kit!?

Looks legit.

I'd have thought that Irish engines would have been a popular choice for any up-and-coming manufacturer. Most classes had no outside cylinders or valve gear to speak of, so already the chassis engineering is simplified!

You'll know of Pendon Museum's 28xx which can haul 95 on the level. Sixty should be possible for a six-coupled, depending on how your wagons are weighted.

I seem to recall that you can knock the speed down a bit by putting a suitable resistor into the motor circuit.

I thought that was the point of the question?

If we were to look at the track centre from - for example- the edge of a platform, in 21mm this would be further out by about 2.25mm. Between two running lines, you would still need to ensure that you preserve the distance between them so that trains pass each other. Hence you would be using clearances that are much more a scale representation of the real thing. I think there are diagrams which show the kind of clearances you need. Some are here. These are the clearances we might use in P4/18.83, but you can see how the principles apply in 21mm gauge.

If you know what the GN wheelbase is, then your only problem is finding the RTR chassis to match. Modern RTR production means very uncertain spares availability, so good luck finding sufficient quantities of complete chassis. Both Bachmann and Hornby can be very unhelpful. A 101/J15 had a 7'3 x 8'3" chassis, so technically you could use a GW Pannier or Dean Goods as a basis.

You cannot retain the kind of sharp radius curves and angles that are common in OO, unless you are portraying something like the CSET beet factory or Guinness internal lines For 21mm, 3ft radius would be pushing your luck.

Are you going 21mm gauge as well?

There are photos of 552 in that condition, working the Kilmessan-Athboy branch.

It would certainly cut down the time needed to lay plain track, which means you can concentrate on the pointwork.

Hopefully a move towards 21mm gauge

A little bird tells me there might be something from the GNR(I)...

Other than Worsley Works, there is virtually nothing available in the kit world for the CDRJC now. Previously, you could buy kits from Backwoods and Parkside Dundas (ex-Ninelines) and get something running. The peak of Irish NG kit availability (in 4mm NG terms, anyway) seems to have been early 2000s. If you missed the boat, then you really missed it.

That's a real shame. Just as well I secured one kit to build "Drumboe" long ago. If there aren't to be any more of these kits I might as well scan the etches and do my own if I can get my head around how AutoCAD works.

None of the Backwoods kits are for the faint-hearted, but there is a question mark (allegedly) over whether they are still available.

I don't remember there being one in the kit. If using the smokebox supplied, then rivets would have to be individually pressed into the brass before it's rolled to shape, and I haven't worked out how many rivets the thing's supposed to have. Might be a bit much to send it over here (London), wait, then pray the smokebox survives Royal Mail and An Post.