Jack P

I'm sure there will be a full announcement in the trade area soon - but WE ARE FINALLY GETTING A D! https://railsofsheffield.com/news/articles/3192-rails-limited-wainwright-d-class Another Rails/Dapol/NRM exclusive

Another update! Recently I went up to Rotorua for a weekend with my partners extended family, lots of kids, dogs and noise. Amid this I managed to find a small slice of my hobby - lurking just around the corner from where we were staying no less! The area is a small preservation line / hobby shop / club room. Out the front was a large loop of track, and when we arrived I was greeted with a very distinctive smell; Simmering away happily, albeit noisily (blower on) sat 'Sir Roy'. Apparently she has been running for a few years now, and could use some cosmetic upgrades. Mechanically she is absolutely fine though - and boy did she sound fantastic storming around! After a bit of a chat with the guys running her, and an enquiry about 'wot was over there', it was suggested that I follow them There is a large shed that houses a few interesting NZR pieces The preserved local station sign. More station/railway signs A diagram of the yards that were previously on the site. Block working equipment. Giant headlamp from a KA class loco. Two of the many nameplates that were displayed around the place Two small petrol powered rail inspection units - and one open truck to be pulled behind. This absolute unit of a thing. Apparently converted from a pickup truck, and originally ran on wooden rails. Had wooden brake blocks too.. hmmm. After being allowed to roam around, the workshop I was asked if I wanted to go to the 'back' part, which is closed off to the public. Of course I said yes! Over in the far corner sat a few bits of rolling stock, they were a bit far to get a good photo though. An inspection coach - apparently despite it's appearance it's structurally sound, and just needs some of the adjacent framing replaced and to be re-cladded. There was a rake of 5 of these flat carriers Immediately outside the shed were some diesel shunters This little guy had an odd looking cab. This one was the biggest of the lot by far, possibly ex UK? Over in the far corner (although in truth is was right by the entrance, so coming full circle.. It was explained to me that in the early days of preservation there were some cowboys out there, and they attempted to repair the valve-gear on this little peckett-esq shunter, but in doing so they 'Royally buggered it up' and so sadly she is sitting there until funds allow for restoration. There also is a dispute in place with local bodies about accessing the railway lines there. I didn't really grasp the whole story, but something to do with 'health and safety' - but this actually being a front for a developer that wants to buy the land. As such, the volunteers aren't allowed to touch any of the locomotives or stock, or even go near the lines. It's pretty sad to see these pieces of New Zealand history languishing because of 'polticks'. Because of this I've decided to join two of the steam groups local to me , Silversteam Steam railway and Steam Inc. and do my bit, even if that's just a financial contribution. If anyone is interested (even vaguely) in finding out more about New Zealand steam, I have linked to two videos on You-tube. That's all for now!

They were very helpful when messaged, I was a bit confused initially but they did a really great job of explaining things. I wasn't sure about the brightly coloured foam so I paid a bit extra and opted for the 'dark grey' foam instead, and i'm glad I did!

Be glad you weren't flying into Wellington, although I think it's been bad up and down the country. Always exciting to hear of more NZ based layouts - Do you know if he will be starting a thread on here?

Those vans do look much better filthy, really brings out the detail!

Ah my mistake - I suppose the number of pins aside, my point was more about a release of rolling stock with DCC capacity. Apologies for the off topic post.

Would you look at that.. Hattons have just announced they're doing coaches that are 21-pin DCC ready.

Ok ok ok, that's enough - more (now) anon?

Another quick update. I've been looking to upgrade my stock storage for a while now. I'm currently using the not very good method of lining a shoe/hattons box with paper handy roll and taping it to the sides, then using folded handy roll to divide things. This works fine for things like coaches, where they are a uniform shape and stack neatly into a Hattons box, but I've long been ware of this and recently i've had a few small details break off in the box - easily fixed, but not an ideal solution for transporting thing. If I had access to tools, and the knowledge I'm sure that I could make something for this myself. Sadly I do not, so I had to look at what options were commercially available. Step in KR Multicase - disclaimer, no affiliation, just happy with the product! They come in a multitude of case sizes, and different insert types, as they are designed for war-gaming their stock mainly consists of compartments for figures. Thankfully they also do a 'Railway' range of trays, in both OO and N. They have their own unit of measurement which is a 'standardized' sizing. To test the water I opted for a Double lid aluminium case in black. This holds 2 railway trays (each tray is stated to hold 5 Locos or coaches and up to 20 wagons) and using their own measurement figures this is x1 KRU. Don't worry about getting your head around their sizing system, these are pretty easy to figure out. (The Quick-fill option on their website is by far the easiest way to do things) Choose a case, Choose tray type (railway) and then pick OO or N, the system will tell you how many you need to fill a case. Confused yet? Don't be, despite my poor description these are simple to figure out and even easier to use: I managed to get 6 tank engines and 2 tender locos in the first tray - with plenty of room to spare. The second tray managed to get 5 tender locos and two small tank locos (The B4 and P). You can see my primitive storage system beneath the tray. I ended up replacing the 5 boxes with one case! fitting 15 locos in total. The trays allow the locos to sit on their wheels, which minimizes the risk of breaking off things like whistles. To cover the top there is a sheet of foam that the next tray sits on top of. The Railway trays have a cardboard outer with handles to allow for easy and stable pickup. the trays alone would be a handy storage system if you just wanted one case for taking things out of the house. I like this so much that i've gone an ordered the AL3 - which is the triple case. The only thing I would do different next time is to not order the 'double lid' version, and to instead order the briefcase style one, which looks like it stacks much easier, at the time I was worried about the locos not being carried upright, but I can see now that doesn't matter'. I need to do some measuring tonight and see what I could do with some custom trays. Anyway that's enough rambling. If you're in the market for transportable storage systems, these are great. Hopefully this rather large update will be of some use to people. That's all for now, will get some actual modelling done soon!

Absolutely fantastic, I look forward to reading from the beginning when time allows!

My mate and I were discussing that - He's done a bit more research into things than I have. He said Digitrax (in his opinion) is not particularly easy to use compared to some other operating systems. It did seem easy enough for both of us to get to grips with. Had a great time stealing each others locos. I think the clincher for me was the ability to turn the controller from 50% throttle to 0% throttle and have the loco slow to a standstill as opposed to an abrupt stop. I've ordered a Sprog for home use, which is a computer throttle as opposed to a physical one - i've also ordered a few chips. I do need to do a bit of research as to what's 'best'. Exciting times!

Update; Possibly 'controversial' A friend of mine has recently been bitten by the railway bug and has been living vicariously through me. However there is only so much I can do as he really likes the idea of DCC sound. I decided maybe it was time to try something new, and I chipped one of my E4's and the B1. (I have some chips lying around from second hand purchases) There was some faffing around on the club's programming track, but honestly, I'm hooked. The slow speed control and the ability to tweak CV functions are fantastic. The big one for me is that the track on this layout is in much better condition than the DC layout. It also offers more 'play value' being a 4 track main line with a 12 road staging yard and a 15 track through station on the other board. The corners still aren't forgiving, but they are better, and the nicely laid track helps to keep everything screw coupled together! I think this means DCC for me in the future! Here's a short 'bloopers' clip - wait for the end. That's all for now!

No question about it, she is fantastic. I agree with you about Compensation - it wouldn't help, it's just the coarse track that the finescale wheels struggle with. I've found some decent 'Watch Oil' locally, which should be perfect, thank you for the link!

Fantastic, I really hope this leads the way for further batches of slightly more obscure (southern) wagons!

Absolutely do - I'm happy! The actual repainting of coaches is the simple bit, it's the transfers that take me a lifetime! Another quick update; One of the first locos I attempted weathering was a Bachmann C class. For a while now i've not been very happy with it. So it spent a week or so sitting in simple green, followed by a decent scrub with a toothbrush under some hot water. Annoyingly all of the handrail knobs seem to have 'dissolved'. No bother, this is where i'm at now: The footplate is almost entirely back to bare metal. A soft wire wheel in a dremel helped me immensely with paint removal. I'll hit it with a blast of Etch Primer tonight. The body has new handrail knobs glued in and the original wire reused, I've also done my best to remove the mould line from the top of the boiler. The tender is a comparatively pretty simple affair. The chassis has been painted with the same dirty black mix, and now just wants the DCC bits screwed back in. I'll add a bit of weight while i'm at it as it's very light! I'm waiting on some more Tamiya fine primer before my newly adopted black painting method. Which is Matt Black followed by Gloss clear. Apologies for the poor photos, I just couldn't be bothered getting the camera out last night! The Cab interior has been sprayed cream. I find it's easier to paint the interior first. Let fully dry and then mask up before painting the outside black. The chassis was fully stripped down too. I even went as far as taking the sandpipes off and taking most of it back to bare metal. Etch primer, followed by dirty black over everything. The coupling rods will be picked out and weathered separately at a later stage. Annoyingly it still runs like a pig. Maybe some lubrication is in order - What do folks suggest for lubricant? Finally i've been working on one of two GWR vans. Still not quite as proficient as Mr EM Adam but it's certainly inspiring me to try and add a few small details. In the case of the Python A it's the brake rigging, A pretty rudimentary representation but it's better for being there. I need to figure out what to do with the windows next - it probably would've been easier to follow the instructions and cut them out before gluing the body together, hmmm. It's also the first time I used my previously mentioned coffman clamp. Very happy, a few more moments (this time) spent making sure everything was nice and square has resulted in a very free rolling chassis. I've fallen into the trap of adding too much weight to wagons, so I spent last night going back through everything and reducing the added weight to 20g per wagon, and up to 30g for things like Horseboxes and the Python A. This came about when one of my E4's struggled with a van train. Those Bachmann E4's are pretty darn powerful, but some of my wagons were weighted at 60g+!! less is more methinks. I've also purchased some cheap kitchen scales so I can attempt to get everything up to (or down to) a similar weight. On the topic of weight, I was AMAZED at the N15x's performance on the club layout. Although sadly It won't negotiate the corners and the finescale wheels struggle with the track (maybe it would help being compensated?) - but it managed to pull 16 pullman coaches from a standing start, with the train on a curve. That hefty Whitemetal body certainly helps with adhesion. I must get on and finish that! Anyway, ended up being not so short. Comments and criticism welcomed!

Quick update, these are the precision pics transfers that I plan to use on my repainted stock. I'm very happy with them. They're only slightly less crisp than the Hornby tampo-printed lettering but are infinitely more clear than the HMRS transfers below No affiliation, just a happy customer. That's all for now!

Those deflector braces seemed to jump between members of the class like no-one's business. I've managed to find at least one photo of each loco with them at some point in their lives. I see what you mean about the deflector bowing in at the top, but I think that is just a trick of the light, AFAIK the class only ever had straight deflectors. It could also be damage? I'm also not 100% sure of the cab arrangement. it seems like most things on this class were a bit of a mish-mash between LSWR and LBSCR practice. I have a drawing of the original L Cab, so i'll use that to formulate something passable - If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!

Thanks everyone for the comments. I realise they were regarded as rather mediocre engines, which is a shame because I think they are really very handsome! Managed to get the clack valves sorted. the shape was a bit of a pig to get right, but I think it's better, I've also fitted the reversing gear (?) on the footplate - this kit is a bit of a mixed media affair, these are from a Schools class that I stripped for spares. Now I need to either find, or make the reversing rod! I also added the black edging to the wheels on this side, and I replaced the 3rd boiler band. Tomorrows job will be to replace them all! (YIKES). Please ignore the rough paint finish, this was my first kitbuilt loco, and I'm sure if I was to do it again things would be different! (I hope) @30368 what difference in the deflectors do you mean?

Excuse me for asking Clem, but what do you use for your chains and shackles please?

Thanks Steve! I do seem to have a real soft spot for some non-southern 4-6-0's! UPDATE!: A special lady has returned to her 'home shed' @DLT has done an amazing job on the motion and valve-gear. not to mention his ingenious method of retaining the body. I am extremely impressed. I made a start on getting her finished off last night. I managed to devise a loco/tender coupling, which is a big step forward as I really wasn't sure what I would do for that! There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, with the list of what's left getting shorter and shorter. - re-do the clack valves (done last night just need to finish shaping them and attach them) - Fit reversing gear/lever on the footplate - Safety Valves and whistle - Boiler backhead detailing and cab glazing - Finish paint touchups and lining - fit Nameplates - Light weathering The class of 7 is really a bit of a minefield, different buffers (oval, round SR, round LBSC) and smoke deflector braces that seem to come and go at random. So i'm doing the best I can from a photo of 32331 'Beattie' dated early 1948, still in malachite green, 'Southern' on the tender, BR number in sunshine on the cabside. I'm hoping I can get to the model club some time soon and give her a proper run! Edit: I also realised that despite these being rebuilds of ex LBSC locos and retaining the LBSC suffix of 'X' they all seemed to live at Basingstoke. Perhaps this is my excuse for picking up two sets of the Bulleid 'Shorties'?

Tony, Pretty good for an impulse buy! (Hate to be the bearer of bad news) Another slight issue is the cab, looks like it still has it's Brighton one and not the cut down Maunsell cab. which I think, strictly speaking is 'wrong' for 'our period'. If you feel up to it, Dave Ellis does the whole cab assembly as a spare! Looking forward to seeing Stowe Magna progressing!

I can't seem to find it, so not re-listed I don't think

If anyone has a oo works L class, any type in any condition that they would like to part with, please let me know!

Please excuse the poor quality iPhone photos. Managed to get 'Sir Constantine' numbered and lettered over the weekend. Still needs some touching up and weathering. I realize there are no snifting valves when there should be. There are a few avenues I'm pursuing for having these made, I can't seem to produce an acceptable version myself.

Looks fantastic Tony. Pedant mode: Should the numbers and letters not be the ones with the green drop shadow?