Sheffield Exchange, Toy trains, music and fun!

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

From Spain

Still miss Ade on bass, Paula her replacement ticks an extra box for having red hair, but still miss Ade.

At least there's a railway connection with that one.

[Clive Mortimore]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

At least there's a railway connection with that one.

Yo Sainty

 

The title does say Toy Trains, Music , and F U N

 

This is F U N

 

[jwealleans]

On 12/07/2024 at 23:22, Clive Mortimore said:

I cannot recall if we have had a Kiwi on here in the past?

 

Not had any Kimbra?

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

34 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

 

Not had any Kimbra?

 

 

Not that I am aware of.

 

But have had Fazerdaze

 

[jwealleans]

Here's a bit of fun for you, Clive.  At least, I enjoyed it.

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Been a wee bit busy with DMUs lately.

 

4x Met Cam sets

1x Derby low density

1x Derby Suburban

1x Park Royal Suburban

1x Gloucester

1x Gloucester cross country

1x Gloucester single car

1x Swindon cross country

1x Swindon Inter City

1x Cravens

1x Cravens parcel

1x BRCW

 

Some simple conversions, others a tad bit more work.

 

I was hoping to photograph them this evening, sadly life got in the way. 

[Clive Mortimore]

Just beautiful

 

[Clive Mortimore]

On 28/07/2024 at 23:59, Clive Mortimore said:

Been a wee bit busy with DMUs lately.

 

4x Met Cam sets

1x Derby low density

1x Derby Suburban

1x Park Royal Suburban

1x Gloucester

1x Gloucester cross country

1x Gloucester single car

1x Swindon cross country

1x Swindon Inter City

1x Cravens

1x Cravens parcel

1x BRCW

 

Some simple conversions, others a tad bit more work.

 

I was hoping to photograph them this evening, sadly life got in the way. 

Photos are being uploaded for editing as I write.

[Clive Mortimore]

Eyes down, look in.

 

We start off with a Derby unit. Normally when I convert a train to a NER 4 car unit I cut the brake end off a DMBS and the end non loo seating bay off a TS as in the photo below.

This is an old conversion to make a TBS, you can see the join.

 

This leaves me with a front end of a DMBS and a seating bay without a loo. For BRCW and Met-Cam units just glue to two bits together and file out the door window to the size of the loo window and the one opposite. Not so easy with a Derby unit, because unlike the other manufacturers they changed the window spacing just a bit. I have been toying for some time about what to do with the two bits left over. Do I shift the windows a few millimeters or say (insert your own non RMweb word) and just open the door window out and not worry about the big windie spacing.

 

 

I went with the second option, and with my eyesight I can't tell the main windows are not quite in the right places. The whit line is a plastic card spacer, using a razor saw means the coach is shorten enough that it won't fit the chassis.

 

I have paired it up with a Derby DMBS which was part of a 3 car hybrid unit of a BRCW DMC and a Met-Cam TS. This train will appear later.

Edited July 30 by Clive Mortimore

[Clive Mortimore]

We'll keep on the Derby theme, this is just some additional work on an existing conversion. I have added the headcode and destination blinds panels to my Class 116 3 car suburban unit.

This unit will carry two identities, but using the same numbers. One side will be W prefixed so I can run it with my other WR units and the other side E before the number. If you had been following the class 116 thread some of these were transferred to the ER still in green livery. They were tried on Tyneside but not too successful so were then sent to work the King Cross suburban system. Little is mentioned of their time when they were trialed between Doncaster and Sheffield Exchange before arriving down south.

[Clive Mortimore]

Next up is a Met-Cam four car unit. I have already mentioned how I normally make a TBS for a 4 car unit. Well to make this one I purchased a 3 car Lima Met-Cam to go with a surplus TS gifted to me by Steve (31A). Had I under taken my normal cut and shut to make the TBS I would have been short of a DMBS to go in the Derby/Met-Cam/BRCW hybrid unit if I moved the DMBS to the new Derby 2 car unit. To over come this I decided to use Steve's TS to make a TBS by removing the window pillars and bunging some bits of plastic card in the right places for a TBS.

It was mounted on a power car underframe, I have cut that off and it will be used on another Met-Cam unit.

 

As the new (and it had not been out the box) 3 car unit had no heacode panel I added one to the DMC.

Departing on York via Doncaster service. Must file off the radio pod.

 

Now I bet you are wondering what is powering this new 4 car train.Just before Mr Hatton pack things in I bought this DMC mounted on a Replica powered chassis at an extremely  good price.

 

Another radio pod to get rid of.

 

The DMBS has replaced the Derby one in the three car hybrid unit, making it a more realistic mismatch.

It wasn't until I was photographing these I spotted I have not given this coach a headcode panel or two additional lights. 

 

The other end has this old conversion of a BRCW centre car into a DMC.

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Just a quickie.

 

I have done some work on the front end of the Cravens multi coloured parcels unit. These had a different design of headcode panel to normal, some LMR 2 car units had a similar style.

 

Off to Preston with another cargo of goodies from the local mail order catalogue company. 

 

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Another front end variation of the Cravens units was the four headcode lights. I intented to make this DC Kits (yet another transfer to Sheff Ex from Finsbury Square) into a class 112 to go with my class 113, how ever I looked at my existing Cravens units, the bachy ones and my cut and shut 3 car Tri-ang coach conversion have the wrong brake van for a lights only unit and/or a 112, so the choice was which would be easiest to make into a lights only or 112, the MTK part build is going to become the 112. The DC kits the lights only.

Bing held at the inner home signal until another move across the station throat has been completed.

 

I have powered the units with a Limby power bogie. I need to add more pickups on the trailing bogie.

 

I didn't get on with the DC kits bogies so I used some damaged Hornby 110 bogies. These were modified by removing the unbroken retaining clips and the side lugs.  A new top bolster was fitted from plastic card. A big hole was drilled into the bottom bolster so the retaining screw and screwdriver could pass through.

I know they should be 12 mm disc wheels, and I thought I had some only to find packets and yet more packets of three hole disc and spoked wheels

 

I am finding this kit more of a challenge than my cut and shuts.

[Clive Mortimore]

Before moving on to Cut and Shuts another quikie, a Lima class 121 into a class 122.

 

I know you can get a Dapol one and one day I might but just opening the box is not as skillful.

[Clive Mortimore]

First cut and shut, a simple one and it is the fifth time I have done it. Adding seating bays to a Lima 117 DMBS to make a DMS.

 

The other four have been DMS for a class 116, see above, class 118, class 125 and a DTS class 121.

 

I also altered the front end by making the headcode box the correct size and for a 117 removed the marker lights.When new most 117s did not have them fitted where most 118s did. With both classes there were a couple  of unit which were the opposite way round, 117s with lights and 118s without.

A two car unit arriving at platform 7.

[Clive Mortimore]

Staying on the (great) Western Region we have a Mainline/Tri-ang/Hornby/Replica Gloucester 3 car Cross country unit.

All four cars of my Gloucester 3 car Cross Country unit snaking their way across the station throat.

 

The DMBC, this is mounted on a Replica powered chassis. It has a scratchbuilt cab, I was planning to use a pair of Lima 117 cabs from the bodies of my Swindon 120 conversion. Timara Easter has them to make a class 114 for my mate Gilbert. I actually enjoyed making the cabs. 

I had to replace the Replica solbar thingy because the way I had constructed the coach body meant it didn't fit the chassis. I should have photographed the underside of the coach.

 

The TSRB, I used Mainline coaches for the bodies of this unit as the windows are the correct depth for a Cross Country unit, other makes of Mk1 the windows are too deep. Down side the sides are not deep enough but it is easier to all 1 mm by 1mm micro strip to the bottom of the coach than to each window. I have filed the turn under found on these units on this coach, hopefully it will show up more when painted. I need to do this on the other coaches.

 

A Hornby Hawksworth CK, now why have I included this , well in real life a few of these were converted to operate with blue square multiple units. They mainly ran in Gloucester Cross Country trains, after these were moved to sunnier locations a collection of class 117 units had gangways fitted so these could be run with them.

I bought this model a good 6 to 7 years ago when I had plans to make a class 119, it came out the box for the first time the other day.

 

The DMS on a Tri-ang chassis. The Mk1 bogies can be made into a fair representation of a DMU bogie, of course with all of today's photos I still have the udder gubbins to sort out

 

[Clive Mortimore]

What would a Cross Country unit be doing as far north as Sheffield? Well it is on a excursion with this unit, a Swindon 3 car Cross Country unit.

 

DMBC, Trix sides mounted on a Lima 117 chassis with Tri-ang roof. Like the Mainline coaches used for the 119 , the Trix windows are the correct depth for a 120. I can't make my mindup which are better, the Mainline sides or the Trix ones.

The TSRB, Lima center coach underframe.

 

The WR was very good at keeping sets together compared with other regions so it must have been a dire emergency that a second batch DMS forms the end coach. Same combination as the rest of the train.

More like the modeller wanted to do yet another variation.

[Clive Mortimore]

We now move from trains deep in bandit country to those north of that wall.

I have made a six car Edinburgh to Glasgow unit before, this is the similar looking 3 car Glasgow to Ayr unit. All coaches are Trix sides running on Tri-ang chassis with Tri-ang roofs.

The DMBS, unlike the earlier Edinburgh sets the van end is at the rear of the coach not the front.

It is powered with a Hornby 110 power unit and these are the mods I done to the Tri-ang chassis.

 

The Edinburgh sets had an TFK with the same body work, as did a few Ayr sets but this will be lettered as a TCK.

The front end of the DMS, these differed from the Edinburgh sets in having roller blind headcode panels.It needs a BR type gangway cover, I have some Replica ones some where, blowed if I can find them.

[Clive Mortimore]

Now we are getting towards the end and the more adventurous/daft* conversions.                                   *delete as applicable 

 

Staying in Scotland, well sort of, a second batch Gloucester class 100. Now I saw a very similar conversion done by my mate Gibbo, I used Mainline Mk1 windows where he used some Hornby  class 110 ones. The basic body is a Tri-ang Mk2 SK with its windows removed and "new" ones fitted from a Mainline coach.

The DTC, there is some more work to be done on the lower part of the front. It is on a shorted Mk2 coach chassis. The donor coach dates back to the days when Tri-ang riveted the bogies on. So I filed the sides of the bogies flat and added some MTK DMU bogie side frames, out of the box with the MTK Gloucester class 100 in it.

 

The DMBS, this is my third class 100, the other two are a MTK one on Hornby 110 bogies and a converted Hornby 110. These two cars are representatives of the second batch with side marker lights. They were new to Scotland but transferred to the ER in the late 1960s, some still in green livery. My other two 100s have a a top light only so could be ex ScR or LMR allocated units.

This is running on a Replica powered chassis.

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Second and the most insane cut and shut is this Met-Cam light weight. Again I blame Gibbo as it was him e-mailing about which was the best Met Cam cab, and me being drawn in by saying the Tri-ang one wasn't bad. Next thing I knew I was doing was ordering a Tri-ang Met Cam on ebay with the view of making it the right length.

As we all know the Tri-ang one is about 20mm too short. Its windows are a tad, 1/4mm if that, too short lengthwise. Most of the missing length is in the window pillars. Armed with a blunt razor saw I set to work on making it longer.After assembling the body so the window were correctly spaced I added slithers and slices of BR Mk1 coach sides to fill the gaps.

It was once all the gaps were filled I started doubt if it looked correct, it looked better as it was longer but still not quite right. It was 1mm too tall and it noticed. The top of the sides was cut away and the cab roof cut off, to be replaced once I had taken out 1mm from the cab top.

I was unsure what to do about the roof. Looking at both photos and the Lima 101 I noticed there were no vents over the vestibules, so i made two cuts in each roof and splice in a few lumps of Mainline Mk1 roof. These are not 100% match but once I have added the filler I hope they will blend in.

 

 

I modified the under side of the coach to take the clip fit Hornby 110 bogies, it has a Horby ringfield motor

 

The outcome so far, I am pleased, and looking forward to getting the filler on it to hide the joints.

[Clive Mortimore]

As the Tri-ang train was arriving a MTK version started its journey to Wakefield.

It has been sitting on the shelf for donkeys years so last night I put a Hornby motor in it.

[Clive Mortimore]

I forgot to mention the BRCW set. Another 110 to 104 conversion, this time to early 3 car set with a top light only. These were associated with Buxton for many years.

 

[great northern]

You must have been up all night for weeks to turn out all that lot! Such ingenuity, knowledge and perseverance. Now I just hope no-one spoils things by mentioning the p**** word.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Now we are getting towards the end and the more adventurous/daft* conversions.                                   *delete as applicable 

 

Staying in Scotland, well sort of, a second batch Gloucester class 100. Now I saw a very similar conversion done by my mate Gibbo, I used Mainline Mk1 windows where he used some Hornby  class 110 ones. The basic body is a Tri-ang Mk2 SK with its windows removed and "new" ones fitted from a Mainline coach.

The DTC, there is some more work to be done on the lower part of the front. It is on a shorted Mk2 coach chassis. The donor coach dates back to the days when Tri-ang riveted the bogies on. So I filed the sides of the bogies flat and added some MTK DMU bogie side frames, out of the box with the MTK Gloucester class 100 in it.

 

The DMBS, this is my third class 100, the other two are a MTK one on Hornby 110 bogies and a converted Hornby 110. These two cars are representatives of the second batch with side marker lights. They were new to Scotland but transferred to the ER in the late 1960s, some still in green livery. My other two 100s have a a top light only so could be ex ScR or LMR allocated units.

This is running on a Replica powered chassis.

 

Nice of you to do a DMU in Northern Ireland Railways livery....  Some phenomenal work here Clive.  Makes my repaint of a 20mm too short Triang DMU into a 101 look a bit amateurish (photos in one of my threads). 

Looking at some of the classes you've created, it begs the question as to why manufacturers chose what they did.  A 104 would have been appropriate for a much wider geographical area than a 110 and why Lima AND Bachmann chose a 117 - most of their lives never leaving the Thames Valley - instead of a 116, which turned up all over the place (even if you overlooked the variations within the fleets in both cases).

 

[5BarVT]

3 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I know you can get a Dapol one and one day I might but just opening the box is not as skillful.

And, sadly, not guaranteed to work as well as your conversion.

Paul.