Horsetan

Yes, I'm aware. I had brief contact with Neville last year. It's a glacially-slow process because the business isn't his day job. It's even slower with the Backwoods OO9 loco kits, as there's no visible progress. I did ask if I could buy a copy of the instructions for the Ffestiniog Double Fairlie (I have the kit already), but Neville wasn't willing to do even that, so I'm stuck. I reckon we'll be lucky if any more Backwoods kits of any description return within the next five to ten years, but I don't think we should expect too much.

That would have been a lovely kit to make if the etches had been publicly available.

The charismatic preacher business is a lucrative one, especially in American or African Christianity. Although the industry sometimes looks oversubscribed, there's always room for another preacher because "God will provide".....

Suggest the Pastafarians.

Sometimes all three combine...

Yes.

Maybe if you offer to financially sponsor the work required, he might agree to the 2mm thing?

....as opposed to goldy or bronzey? I wonder if anyone's considered putting a massive subwoofer under their layout to overcome the tinniness? Would be a gas at shows...

Another entrant for Charlatan of the Year?

I have absolutely no complaints. Spares are always useful where the product is a limited run. Currently looking at different types of rivet strip to see if the faulty etch can be rescued....

I've seen at least one fool around here driving his minibus on "Sovereign Citizen" registration plates. The institutionally-useless Met haven't got around to stopping him yet. Seems to be more of a problem in the US and Australia.

Probably not. If you're increasing the track gauge by a scale 7½", what does that work out at in 1:450 scale? In a scale that tiny, the emphasis is going to be much more on the surroundings than the trains. I think there'd be a sporting chance of modelling the entire stretch of line between Clontarf Road and Grand Canal Dock, including the junctions NE of Amiens Street, but you'd need to be able to accurately reflect all of that dense inner-city development. Could still end up being a lifetime project to do it all properly.

....and very good value that Z conversion etch turned out to be, as the first one had mysteriously missing rivet detail. The replacement was perfect, meaning I had two etches for the price of one and a source of spares in case of assembly mistakes. It then turned out Des was out of stock of J15 kits, and he had to wait about five months for supplies of new etches to arrive!

There's quite a lot of T-gauge insanity on YouTube:

Yes, although Allen's going to need a fair bit more than that.

As they used to say in football manager-speak, "that's a big ask". I'd quite like to put away some future etches for the GS&W 400 and 500 class 4-6-0s and tenders, but there have never been good enough drawings available to the standard that Allen would need to plan his artwork. Same goes for the big 3300 gallon tender that no.186 is attached to - that would be a useful one to have as an etch set.

Doing the wider gauge means you get to see the backs of the splashers instead of seeing them merged into the smokebox or boiler.

The two Class Y engines were only short-lived, coming over in 1944, in the context of anything built from the end of WW2 onwards. No.19 did last about as long as the VS class 4-4-0s. They were actually tested on mainline freight haulage on the NCC lines. What became apparent was a propensity to run hot, which was a factor in their subsequent restriction to shunting work. It was thought that the problem of keeping the axleboxes cool was due to the way the engines had been regauged. You'll remember that converting to 5'3" was done very simply, by removing the wheel centres from the axles, plus the tyres and crankpins from the centres, and turning them around. This inside-out approach apparently gave the correct gauge without needing anything more other than "light machining" of the wheel hubs. Absolutely nothing was done to the frames and axleboxes - they remained at the original measurements for 4'8½". This was different to the Woolwich Moguls, which did have their frames spaced at least 6 to 7 inches wider apart for Irish use. Had this also been done to the "Y"s, the stresses which showed up in longer distance running might not have happened, since the axles would have been more correctly supported in relation to the frames. By contrast, the Jinties/Jockos running in Britain did not often run hot and were used on almost everything within their power capabilities....and sometimes beyond.

No. 18 was withdrawn in 1956, whilst no.19 lasted until 1963.

The Australian 18.201 set me back about £135 at the time, which was a third to a half cheaper than UK or European retail. Your mention of the Bavarian S3/6 (another compound) reminds me that I obtained a complete Fleischmann chassis some years ago (it even has working inside cranks and rods), and later an ancient M+F S3/6 tender kit, the plan being to motorise the Revell plastic kit for the preserved 18.505. On the other hand, there are some items that always go for over the odds, and the old M+F German loco kits are usually good examples of this - snap them up if you can!

Agreed. All of my ex-DB and DR stock has been derived from eBay. Much much cheaper than going to a shop or looking at a dealer's website. In one case, I acquired a Roco model of the DR's famous test engine 18.201 from a seller in Australia, and even with postage added on, it still worked out cheaper than buying here. Likewise, three Weinert DB loco kits from Australia, two of which now retail at 800+ Euros each, and the third at over 1100 Euros. I had them for an average of £150 each plus post. I recovered some money from selling one kit (which was a duplicate) for £250 to a German buyer who couldn't believe his luck at getting a bargain. The latest bargain to arrive here is a Bachmann-Liliput model of the ex-Baden compound Pacific, 18.316. Cost £79 from eBay, still brand-new.

Probably doesn't want it popping up on eBay.ie later for twice the price

The Belt & Road Initiative of President Xi is alive and well, and encircling the world as planned....

@Weshty supplied me with a spare pack of castings from the SSM J15 kit, as he thought the smokebox door and possibly the chimney might be suitable for a GSR/CIE period J26.