Andy Cundick

The Bill Bedford windows should be right as they were originally done for my Strabane model Andy.

Looking forward to seeing it at Ally Pally,i'mthere with Valencia.The Southampton people are keen to get you to theiir show the same year i take my Arigna ,that should cause a bit of confusion.Andy

Sounds like one of the MGW 440 fitted with a superheater,Andy.

Bit modern image John but i'd be interested in one,Andy

The immortal words that will probably end up on my tombstone "It worked perfectly well at home".Andy.

I use DG couplings from Wizard for all my layouts and find they work well whether narrow standard or broad gauge,Andy

If its of any help Agenoria Models do a kit which is suitable for No3 which is a standard Avonside design.The intriguing thing about the harbour line is in at least photos the train is of both 3' and 5'3" stock couplings and buffer all over the place! Andy.

There is is a useful article in Model Railways October 1976,with drawings for all the variations.Andy.

Must concur with Mayners comments on the kit.I didn't use either of the chassis but the side frames done by Alan Gibson and MJT hornblocks.Mines built as 552 in the 30's for next layout(Courtmacsherry).Though it does make guest appearances on Valencia just to give a bit of variety from J15's.See it at Warley.All the best Andy.

It might also help if you use a pin chuck rather than an Archimedes drill as there is less chance of the drill wandering as it is always cutting,if you need any extra swear words i've a good collection of them from my Swindon days,Andy.

Alan An easy way of keeping axles square is to use a jig made by Brassmasters which is series of parallel slots.I've just used it for a couple of Bandon convertables,as for the SSM w irons i use them and wedge the wobbly bit solid,it seems to work on Valencia Hope this is some use Andy.

Not convinced about compensation on everything certainly not on ordinary 4 wheel stock.Personally i reckon getting the track level helps more.I use the MJT bogies but they are soldered up solid an d merely rely on the 3 point suspension provided by both bogies,as for locos both J15's are fixed chassis but the GN A has a compensated chassis(i know bit out of location but to the uninitiated its a black 060) and they all run about the same.My view is use EM or P4 standards the main is the gauge which looks right cos it is.One oddity re Warley i noticed that Alan Gee (Schull)and me are listed under continental in layout page whereas O'Connell Street is with te British 4mm layouts,is that because we are beyond the pale?Andy.

Valencia was also in Irish lines a couple of editions ago,and if you are really desperate she's at Warley this year.The successor Courtmacsherry may be there in 3 years time as 2 of the 3' layouts are there the next 2 years.Castlederg next year and Arigna 2017,what larks! Andy.

Rich.Valencia is built to EM standards.The track is copperclad with Code 75 rail the only different item you need is a track gauge for 21mm.The Scalefour people used to do them and may still do,if not you can make one up from washers and a bolt.If you havn't built a point before my first one as built using an SMP point kit and i just blew up the plan for 21mmgauge and to my surprise it worked.AS for photos of Valencia a bit beyond my computer talents,but RM web has a couple of shots of her in the Larkrail report in the exhibition bit and theres one of her on the Loddon Vale Club site from their show last weekend though the caption slightly wrong as the transport was an Austin 10 not a 7.Andy.

Bogies for 21mm are no problem at all,just use the MJT compensated coach bogies to whatever wheelbase you want and just use the Murphy side frames.I've not used any Murphy stuff myself as it is much too modern,but some of my GN coaches run on them as well as the nonpowered ends of various GN railcars and one end of my C Class(High Level chassis under the business end),though saying that Valencia operates purely with 6 wheelers as bogie stock was still banned in 1935.Andy