Colonel

Splendid! C class in 7mm scale, anyone?

Food for thought 're small shunting layouts, even 7mm scale possible - though not by me!

Atmosphere is building and low level shots through the trees looking very effective, even now.

A real watershed moment this afternoon, when I finally got the Swilly Kerr Stuart 4-6-2T working with a full chassis. At Tolworth, it was running as a 4-6-0, because it was unable to negotiate the crossover at the station end. The dodge wasn't really noticeable because of the outside frames and the loco actually ran ok in this form, but it obviously wasn't right & this was an itch that needed scratching. Turned out there were several issues... The pony truck was a bit light, so have added more lead weights to it. The pivot plate was slightly too long & was fouling the brake linkage near the buffer beam - probably the main reason the truck kept derailing. So, soldered on a piece of nickel silver to the plate and re-drilled it for the 8ba bolt. At the same time added a couple of spacers above the plate, so it sits horizontally. As you can see, high-tech it ain't! A further problem was that the truck was still marginal when reversing out of the train shed, but ok on all the other points. Hence decided to check the gauge at the derailment point, which it turned out was right where the point blades meet the stock rail. The solution was to file down the outside point blade, gaining an extra half millimetre and [fingers crossed] solving the problem. All the other locos and stock are either shorter wheel base or bogies, so the point hadn't been a problem until the 4-6-2T came along. Time will tell if I've really succeeded, though the Southampton show in two weeks time should be a good test. A couple of other things are the Donegal railcar trailer has been repaired,,, ... and a new road vehicle has been acquired. This little Austin Seven van was on a second hand stall at a recent local show. A Corgi Classic, its livery is for Birmingham Gas Corporation - not a problem, I thought, as the transfers will soon come off. Except they won't. Not sure what they are, but nothing I have will touch them & I really don't want to do a full sand down & repaint. Hence decided to make simple logos on the laptop that could be printed off & stuck over the Birmingham logos. Have gone for a fictitious 'Donegal Gas Company' on the basis that before 'natural gas', town gas was manufactured [from coal] in almost every town across both islands. Probably committing heresy, so by all means make suggestions. Finally, for now, the little cabin for the ground frame on my new 0 gauge layout has been finished. For such a small model, it seems to have taken ages - much of it waiting for paint to dry! Have also mocked up the dairy buildings, from foam board, though with two layouts at two different shows over the next fortnight, not much is happening here at present.

Ahhh.....

Some forward thinking dude was making them easier to model?

Has to be a water pump of some kind. The long handles pivot and notice the long jet pipe sticking up. There appears to be cylinders/pistons of some sort at the far end. Wherever it is, looks like other early fire brigade stuff in the background too.

What is it about roadside tramways? That first picture is a stunner.

Scenery looking great. Also noticeable on quite a few photos, especially low angle ones, of how Code 75 track significantly improves the look of 00 gauge. That final photo a case in point.

Another factor, which I've mentioned before, is that as gentlemen get older our perception of colour (and green especially), fades. We therefore need to check with a/the lady in our life about its suitabilty. That said, have been following the advice/orders of her good self, particularly on dress code, forever. You soon learn to know it makes sense!

All you need to justify almost any type of traffic is a siding going off scene - either a different track back to the fiddle yard, or a second yard at the other end. The former makes more sense if space is at a premium. The siding can then serve whatever you fancy and even have its own private shunter, while empty or loaded wagons not a problem either.

Managed to swap the layouts again this morning, so NPQ is now up & running again. Didn't take long to exchange the fiddle yard tops, so then had a look at Acla's mast & rigging. The former turned out fairly easy to repair: drilled out the white metal base to take a piece of 1/8th inch steel rod and added all the bits. The mast and boom are both brass tube. Rigging proved a lot more fiddly, not least because I couldn't remember how it went, but finally found some photos of the model and also the rigging from the derrick, which I'd saved. It's elasticated thread, so has plenty of give. One day, I hope to do a proper job on it given that a] Vic 96 resides in Chatham Maritime and b] Gordon Gravett's efforts on a similar vessel put me to shame and his are 4mm and 2mm scale!!

All down to those books I bought from the Donegal stand last time I was at Cultra!

Have got two shows coming up shortly: NPQ at Canterbury on 17-18th & Swillybegs at Southampton the week after, so time to check over both layouts and get everything ready. Swillybegs first, simply because the fiddle yard frame is still set up for that from its last outing at Tolworth. First job was to double check cassette alignment with the layout. A couple of adjustments needed, but otherwise, all seems ok. Elsewhere, Railcar 10's trailer needs serious attention, having been dropped on the floor [by me] & the front end needs rebuilding. There may yet be time to do that, but as back up, have a couple of 'red vans' [repaints of my CVR stock, as per prototype], so have been fitting DG couplings to these. The Railcar was able to haul two of these, so it all works fine. My Swilly Kerr Stuart 4-6-2T has had a bit of a clean up, as repeated handling to get the chassis running nicely resulted in some of the weathering being rubbed off. Therefore some work with cotton buds and T-Cut has tidied it up and it now looks a lot smarter. Meanwhile, Northport Quay's sliding/rotating fiddle yard needs to replace the cassette table top, though the main work is on the coaster Acla, as its mast had to be dismantled owing the white metal base failing at the Aldershot show. A bit of judicious drilling out is indicated, then, once reassembled, it will all need re-rigging...

Fascinating!