Castle

Hi George, The Great Western Trust at Didcot have some original uniforms in the museum. I have no doubt that they could send you details and possibly good quality photos. If you use the enquiry e-mail on the Didcot Railway Centre website it will get to the right person. All the best, Castle

Hi All, No. 93 has definitely been scanned - take that from the horse’s mouth... For purely selfish reasons (ie: it will save me building kits!), I would like either No. 92 or the ex railmotor versions. I would have thought though that a Churchward one to compliment the pre existing Collett and Hawksworth variants in 4mm RTR would be a good idea and have the widest appeal throughout the market as a whole? All the best, Castle

Hi All, Sorry it's taken a while for me to get back to you but I've been a bit busy... It's great to hear that the tour didn't result in a pre-emotive divorce type situation! It was great to see you all at DRC and I am glad you enjoyed it. It's always a pleasure showing like minded people round the 'toybox'. Whenever your back in the uk, remember to drop in and see us! All the best, Castle

Hi ADK, Welcome to the forum! I was like you, long time lurker before I plucked up the courage to have a post or three and I don't regret doing so for a minute! There is some excellent work here good sir! I look forward to the horse of build - nothing like a nice brass wagon kit is there? The shackles are good too. It's the bit of doing open wagon lode like this that I like the least bit it does make the difference to the finished job doesn't it? All the best, Castle

Hi Gareth, There are 4mm scale models of both a David Geen whitemetal MICA and a TEVAN conversion on my Little Didcot thread (link below) and you are welcome to a use of them if properly credited! All the best, Castle

Absolutely - if No. 93 is on the main demonstration line the it might do upwards of 30 miles in a day. The way we figured it, that's a trip up and down a branch line of anyone's money! Add to that the many heritage line tours she has been on and her main line ecapades then she's done quite a bit. It's certainly enough to approximate a couple of years of full active service and I suspect that the white lead based paint they used back then was no better at evading the black stuff than our modern mixes... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Although we don't have access to exact millage paperwork for No. 93, we think that it must be on par with what it did in service as although we don't operate every day, the millage racked up even on a relatively small site like Didcot is quite high and she has been out on tour a bit too. It must be on par with a daily trundle up and down a branch line... Not a precise answer but the best we are going to get! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Man with a hat? Where? I resemble that accusation! We do like a bit of gritty realism! The truth be told, the white gets stained that colour and there isn't much that can be done other than breaking out the paint pot to rectify it... Well, that's an interesting question. The truth is I don't know but I can ask. It might be a bit tricky to guesstimate but we will have a go for you Mr Snooper! All the best, Castle

Hi Neil, We were back on shed at about 22:20hrs last night. We did disposal and I managed to get a train after and got home. I am more than a little bit tired today... All the best, Castle

Hi All, No. 6023 behaved her (his?) self very well. The next job is to prove the new draughting arrangements (2-1 blast pipe with new short chimney conversion) over an extended distance and then she might be let out on her own. Small steps forward but steps forward none the less... It's not just Oliver Cromwell and a King we have to worry about, if you look through the history books you will see that a certain Pendennis Castle was once laid siege to by palimentary forces lead by - you've guessed it - Oliver Cromwell! Nobody laying siege to No. 4079 while I'm about... No - there weren't any blue Britannias as they were both the wrong power class (blue was put on 8P machines and both Britannias and Castles were eventually 7P) and they were built a little bit late for that sort of thing anyway. Duke of Gloucester was always green for example. All the best, Castle

Hi All, We have been busy this evening... No. 6023 (and 70013!) returns to Paddington Station! I hope to see some of you at the Old Oak Common 111 event on Saturday! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Snap! A few of this weekends visitors too... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Just a quick note to get you up to date with proceedings at Didcot for the Gala weekend. Firstly, the old rival has been spotted! The Scotsman is on site and has already been turned and has had a little light exercise on the main demonstration line already today! Also today and old friend of both Flying Scotsman and Pendennis Castle turned up to see how his former charges were getting on. It was a pleasure to show Sir William and Lady Judy McAlpine around 'Little Swindon' today! Myself and the No. 4079 team will be on hand all weekend to show off Pendennis Castle and conduct tours of Didcot Locomotive Works as well so I hope you might be able to join us! A number of tickets have been made available for each of the days so if you haven't got tickets yet, they are available on the gate! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Slough on the GWR main line had numerous bay platforms all over the place with the up and down relief and up and down main travelling through. Reading still does with a whole host of bay platforms facing down the Berks and Hants and the former SR side of the station heading of into 3rd rail territory. The original design of Reading had a large area of freight avoiding lines alongside the main station and numerous bay platforms. All this is now through platforms though. I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi Guy, I'm not sure on this one but I have to say I asked the experts and that there is a reason why No. 47887 / 2356 at Didcot has been both grey and brown in preservation but not red... Nobody's sure about the livery! All the best, Castle

Hi All, There is a deeper point here in that with my preservationist or my model making hats on, myself and the rest of the bunch at Didcot have access to pretty much EXACTLY the same sources as everyone else when it comes to matters such as these. The guys a Didcot - particularly the carriage & Wagon department - may spend a lot more time pouring over the sources than the average enthusiast (present company probably excepted!) but they are still looking at the same sources. The only 2 differences are that firstly, with a precious few vehicles, some earlier livery evidence exists under later coats of paint but to which era do you associate a certain coat of paint and how does that change given the fact that it was old fashioned pigments exposed to the rigours of an operating steam railway environment? There is a loco toolbox squirrelled away somewhere that has hints of the Wolverhampton livery on it for example, a few remaining sections of the genuine broad gauge coach and the interior of the family saloon that survived by being a nice old lady's house to name but three treasures but you can only extrapolate so much from these fleeting remains. Secondly, the older volunteers had the chance to work with - in the society's early years at least - with genuine Swindon works / GWR veterans. This is of course an almost if not totally closed source these days so no longer available to anyone. The storys that one of my friends in the loco works tells about his friend Ernie Nutty for example are enough to really make you sit back and listen! I have even heard the belief voiced that we have secret archives and knowledge that we don't share with anyone and this is quite frankly a bit silly... As both preservationists and historians, if we as a group can add to the sum of knowledge with a discovery that we can be very sure about, you can bet we would love to make our discovery public! When we restore a vehicle, we do it to the best of our ability, to the best match that can be made between the surviving evidence and modern materials and to the best of sum of the current knowledge on that given subject at that given moment. This isn't to say that I don't believe that some of my fellow volunteers aren't some of the greatest experts on this subject (any time spent with the likes of K14 Pete of this parish will convince you of that!) but if you hear them talk, like any good historian, you will hear them talk about the stuff they don't know about and the things they aren't sure about probably more that the stuff they do. Even the recent lining of No. 4079's tender threw up a few issues. How was the lining around the lower frames finished off at the ends? Seems simple until you start really looking at period pictures and realise just how infrequently pictures of any loco were taken at just the right angle and with both enough light and good enough quality film stock to reveal these details. There might be a modern reason that something is the way it is. Another frequent criticism of the ex-GWR wagon restorations at Didcot is that the grey used is too dark. I have brought this up and the C&W team completely agree that it is too dark - when first applied. As the sunlight gets to it however, it fades down to a more correct shade and is therefore 'more correct' for longer as a result. I guess the thing to remember is that preservationists in the main - and I know a lot of the guys at Didcot are like me in this - love to talk about their work so don't be afraid to ask! We do our level best to get things as right as possible! We are all just doing the best with what we've got and that's what makes it exciting! All the best, Castle

I have no idea what you mean... All the best, Castle

Hi Sam, Great that you have chosen to joint us! I will no doubt see you around 'on shed' so to speak. Thanks for the compliments about the project too! All the best, Castle

Hi CoY, That's a really nice job you have made of the kit - well done! All the best, Castle

Hi Rich, Too true - the smokebox door damage is actually due to Australian head lamp brackets - but it is life imitating art perhaps! We didn't tackle it as will need to strip all the paint off the smokebox as large quantities of the old stuff underneath are attempting to escape... We can remove the smokebox as it is only bolted on at the moment. We had to do a dry extension repair to the boiler and it is more comfortable to work on the front tube plate with it off. Once the out of frames tests are done we will fix it on permanently. All the best, Castle

Giants Refreshed - Swindon Style? Part II Hi All, Well, there we are another work week at Didcot Railway Centre nearly over and bar one tour that I have to do tomorrow for a few fellow modellers, it's all done. So, what is work week? It's a week (no - really?!) that we volunteers at DRC put aside for those tricky or long and involved jobs that really are best done with few breaks in between. I guess painting a Castle class locomotive could well be one of those tasks! It means that the stuff you have carefully cleaned of doesn't get mucky again and make you have to clean it again, you can get all the kit out and leave it out as you are coming right back to it in the morning and you really get to see the progress happen day by day. Also, the Heavy Freight Mob's 'Black Python' bar coach is open of an evening and it gives you a chance to catch up and have a chat with all those friends you haven't seen in a while - most convivial! We started not far from this point here. This was taken a month or so ago when No. 4079 was taken out the from the works for her roof to be lifted back on by a crane. About two weeks ago, the cosmetic restoration of No. 5051's tender was completed so No. 4079's was returned to her as well. As you can see, lots has been done to the locomotive but she was looking a little sad and a bit like a patchwork quilt so it was time for us to do something about it. The stage was set for a makeover... First things first. This really is just a skin deep make over. The paint we are using is all undercoat so it has little gloss to it and is not quite the right shade of green - I know you would all point that out! We also have to remove the boiler again for the last few jobs and certification so any paint we put on now has a high likelihood of being scratched as the loco is disassembled. However, layers of paint, even if the odd bit of fine surface filler has to be applied to fill the scratches, is a good thing as it builds up a surface that can be cut back to give a very smooth surface. We also have Flying Scotsman turning up at DRC so we can't let the side down either so on with the paint! Here we have applied the first layer of green to the barrel and firebox and our sign writer is prepping the buffer beam. He works when he can do we may not get it numbered and lettered for the event but it's best to let him do this bit as he has to line it out! As the green hadn't completely covered the boiler, we rubbed it back a bit to prepare for a second coat. We also had to clean all of the surfaces we were going to paint black over the next couple of days, removing all dust, grease and oil. On a real locomotive this is NOT an inconsequential task... Then you start working down the locomotive. Green bits first as you don't stand on them once you have done the top of the firebox. Think about GWR livery and this will make sense... Then, you work through the various black bits, not including the running plate as you have to stand on it! Then you start painting all the bits you MIGHT stand of if you weren't thinking. You may want to add the nameplates of your project requires them. These are not etched brass. They are also not genuine. The real things are far too valuable to leave out on the locomotive. Sadly an estimated five figure price for the originals that have letters that date back to the original Duke class loco is too tempting a target so these will suffice on a day to day basis. On special occasions however, when there is constant monitoring of them, perhaps... There is obviously a moment of joy when fitting the plates to your project! There is also a bit of relief in getting these quite heavy items in place without scratching the brand new paint while the project manager is watching AND taking pictures! Then paint the bits you definitely do stand on! Last few touches... One handy reminder later. It was then we saw the headboard on the wall next to the engine - I bet you would do what we did given half the chance. Here is the Cambrian Coast Express! Looking round, we saw the Cathedrals Express head board and figured that was a good idea too! A bit more like the Cuneo original in reverse here with Nos. 7202 and 4079. The current boiler fitted to the 72XX is the Swindon special experimental invisible type... And finally (as they say on the news), an amazing photo by our society photographer, Frank Dumbleton who always pops in at the end of a work day to take a few snaps of the progress made. Well, as I said, just a tour to do tomorrow and I'm putting my feet up for a couple of days. Perhaps a little less 12":1' modelling and a little more 4mm:1' instead? Please come and join us at Didcot over the bank holiday weekend and enjoy not only our great rival's visit but also the charming No. 813 on the branch and tours of the loco works and many of the other facilities that are on the site. Tickets can be booked via ticket master here: http://www.ticketmas...uk/venue/436300 All the best, Castle

Hi Peter, I will take a few more when she is a bit more finished. This is only undercoat as the engine will need to be stripped down again to remove and certify the boiler. She is moving closer though... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Giants Refreshed - Swindon Style? Guess what the team and I have been doing this week? All in preparation for the Flying Scotsman weekend here at DRC No. 4079 will be on show in Didcot Locomotive Works alongside the other under overhaul locomotive's for the entire bank holiday weekend with my team and myself on hand to answer questions and show people around. If you can make it, it will be great to see you there! All the best, Castle

Hi Kevin, From a purely practical point of view, you can't see both sides of the loco at the same time. What I did when crewing my 14XX was to put the crew members in the cab in such a position so that they block the view through the cab. This way you can't tell that there are three crew members. Remember, the fireman in an auto working situation uses both his AND the drivers controls, such as the reverser and vacuum ejector and so on. He would therefore at times legitimately be on the driver's side of the cab. So, if you see a figure in the driver's side of the cab it could be the fireman... I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi Dean, I always give the holes a light drilling with a 2mm drill to ensure that the bearing goes all the way home first. Then, if it needs tweaking, you can carefully get a sharp blade between the sole bar / W iron / axle box moulding and the brass shoulder and ease it out a bit. You can then use some thin superglue which I apply with a piece of thin wire and that should 'wick' around the bearing and fix the bearing in place weather it is pushed all the way in or slightly pulled out. Not the only way of doing it but this is my way of doing it! I hope this helps! All the best, Castle PS: The other thing is to file off the nib that is sometimes left when the bearing is machined. This will prevent the bearing going all the way home too! Sorry if this is an obvious thing to say...