big jim

Some from today, had to go to rugby for a meeting but got roped into a few other jobs too First up at crewe a pair of DRS 37s top and tail a pair of PFA wagons Then another one came in from Chester Then caught a train to Stafford and onward to rugby Then helped out with some brake test training 86259 37229 and 86259 Then caught a train to bescot from rugby To collect 70815 Which I took to shrewsbury coleham, stopped in Wolverhampton Too dark for pics at shrewsbury though

TBH it's only reacted where I've not fully got the original black paint off back to bare plastic, only looked to be a couple of patches after scrubbing it with a toothbrush so I never bothered to get it all off it was the same when it reacted on the sides before I stripped the body completely down, a quick rub down with wet and dry should be ok, I'll be painting the roof with acrylic paint which seems to go on ok over the dodgy primer on another coach I did recently

Rubbed back and a coat of primer to see where needs futher attention Just a couple of spots to refill, the primer has reacted with something on the roof, once dry I'll rub it down a touch and redo

Got my subs copy last week, really enjoyed this issue but I do enjoy a good round roundy attic layout over say a shunting plank so the attic feature was an interesting one for me The better trackwork article is also very useful as I near a point where I can crack on with that on my own layout

Got the coaches from the paint stripper Cleaned them up a touch more before reapplying the etch window blanks again and filling with large amounts of putty ready to be rubbed down They will end up as 999550 track recording coach (bottom) and PLP coach 1256 (top) Leaving them overnight to set before rubbing down with very fine wet and dry Next up to visit the paint stripper will be a class 150 unit that will become the TRU 9500001 Finally got on top of all the odds and end projects, decals arrived today for mentor and the UTU so I'm hoping to have a 'decal day' very soon, oh and a wiring day to get the MPV up and running again

No that wasn't me but it did pass me too at bushbury jn while I was sat on the logs and then we passed it stood in bushbury loop Had a couple of driver assessments to get on with yesterday so did the logs chirk to carlisle with the drivers that needed doing Had a few problems on the way, track circuit failures, points failures meaning we got to carlisle a couple of hours late Some random piccies 142 in Chester 158 to chirk 60026 pulling in And away at carlisle DRS 57 It's that time of year again! Caught a TPE setvice to Preston 150 unit Then A voyager home

Quite tempted to do the EMV now!

I've diluted the IPA to about 90% strength I got it off Amazon, a 1L bottle to start with but now I know it works I may invest in a 5L tub but in all fairness as mick says it can be sieved and reused and I've put it in a sealed container so it shouldn't evaporate

A quick google search shows that PLP coach 1256 is a 7 window variety so I'll turn the other coach into that, it also appears to run with the TRC quite a lot as well as a generator van, I also have a MK2 brake end to strip down which could become part of the rake too as 9481

Both cabs almost finished, cantrail stripes numbers and logos to add Really need to sort out the roof on the module this end! And a pic of the UTU in its train, decals en route from realtec for that one, going to have to have a decal day soon, NMT, mentor, UTU and MPV to decal up! And finally I have stripped the TRC back down but this time used dilute IPA which has taken it back to the bare plastic, going to fill the dodgy windows better once it's completely stripped, I've also put a 2nd MK2 in the solution which will become something else, not sure what yet as it is a 7 window version so I'll have to see what NE coaches are based in that configuration

not just me then!

9708 is a generator DBSO, a bit more work than a non genny fitted one but if your using a ph designs kit it's nice and simple (even though I made a mess of mine and did more work than I needed to coz I never read the instructions Pete sent!) The SGT pair is nice and easy to do too 62384 is a very involved coach by the look of it, lots of odd sized windows and a roller shutter in one side As it happens it was my train on Friday night (with an added motorail coach for brake force)

That review is from 2011, it's long since closed down!

managed to scrape the yellow off the frames without removing them over on the other side i removed the filled window and redid it with slats for a grille, also made a smaller grille for alongside a window, this is going to be a compromise as the window on the real thing is 3/4 height but i dont have an etch for that primed and painted back to the stripped MPV gave the cab a coat of primer then yellow, rather than using network rail yellow ive used plasticote "buttercup yellow" which is quite a bit lighter when compared with the other yellow stuff its a fair way out however i think the real thing is a different shade to normal NR yellow anyway grey roof then a NR yellow end and more masking to add the black bits and bobs and demasked, loads better than i could have imagined it would come out glazed and roof bits picked out and on the chassis, the other cab is now off and in the paint stripper lots of touching up to do on the centre modules now, also lights and cameras to add to the cab, probably should have done those before i sprayed it!

as i say i wasnt driving (other than a quick go between term 1-3 and 5) but there were certainly "normal" signals down there all way from what i saw from the back cab and there were aws speed change warnings too regards the smoke it was literally signalled straight in straight out to mimimise dwell time and the extractor fans were switched on, the HEX conductor made sure of that with the relevant bodies

Just realised looking at my prototype picture the window frames are silver not yellow, I've only used glue and glaze to secure the ones I have already done so I may try and get them back off (as I did when I ballsed up Mentor), strip them back to silver and refit them with superglue

TBH, not a clue, I wasn't driving it on that bit (apart from a trundle between term 1-3 and 5, the loco was running on conventional AWS, the ERTMS gubbins was isolated as is the norm away from the Cambrian It wasn't the one out of Bristol, this one left reading triangle, we did pass that one at slough but it was a bit of a ghost train as RTT didn't show what it was, where it was from or going to!

It's hand painted with Phoenix paints enamel 'network rail yellow'

As it happens 999605 was on the RTC this morning, I think I've done a good representation of it so far, will have to remove the buffers though I'm going to remove the putty filled window on the unfinished side and redo it as I've done on the other side, recessed plasticard and individual slats Glazing wise I'm going to fit tinted windows as above to save detailing the inside

Some from last night before I have a sleep, and something a bit different too Started in reading went all the way to brake test the train but when I got there someone else was booked to do it, no hardship as getting on the train for a ride down there was a lot easier than driving to Didcot then having to retrieve my van later today! Interesting thing on the platforms at reading and very useful are these staff info screens, situated on the platforms in public areas My train is in the old depot, 3Q88 ready to depart And once signalled the route into 8 is shown And here it is, so much artificial light in the station, hard to tell this is taken at 23:15! And off we went to Hayes and Harlington where the other driver changed ends (I was sat in the train) and away to Heathrow Terminal 4 with a Heathrow express route conductor, I can't believe how long the tunnel is to the terminal once you leave the mainline Then back to terminal 1-3 (through platform) Where I couldn't resist a drive to terminal 5 Then back to Hayes to change ends and onward to Didcot where I took over for the run back to derby, good signallers all the way, got there 2 1/2 hours early but had to wait for the RTC to open at 06:00 No more pics after that as a: I was sleeping once payed up waiting for the RTC to open and b: I rushed to catch the train back to crewe! And that's it for the weekend

Or chop it in half and have it in yellow (as I am currently doing) https://flic.kr/p/GwfHyg

Yep, really pleased for what is basically £5 worth of material (including the coach) and 6 hours labour so far Anyway sneaked in the shed this afternoon and set about some of my projects with the paint brush and aerosol cans! Primed and painted the roof and underfloor gubbins Can't do much with this side until I get some more window frame etches off wolf27 however the other side I have completed fitting the frames and gave it a coat of yellow The beauty of the hachette coach is when I'm ready to do the unfinished side I only need to unclip the side and do what I need to do And in a train The TRC has had a coat of yellow too but I think I'm going to rub it down in places and fill the windows better Finally mick newbryford' suggestion if stripping paint off body shells using dilute IPA has proved successful, the dodgy MPV cab is now back to its base plastic To which I have a coat of white tamia primer from an aerosol Now I know that works I'm going to get the other cab off and give it similar treatment ready for a coat of yellow

Our local B+M are selling off these led armbands for £1, they can give a steady red or flashing red stripped it down to its component parts when I got home, 2 3v batteries and a circuit board with the switch on, there is a wire feed to a 2nd LED which could be cut off if not needed Handy for flashing tail lights or as I'm going to use mine for set to steady for my structure gauging train laser

A few hours in the shed again earlier, sprayed the PLP coach but it's reacted with something on the body so I'll have to strip it off and start again, may do it through the airbrush next time Anyway somehow managed to start another project, may as well get a ruck of yellow things to paint to make filling the airbrush worth it! So what am I building, this one is going to be a UTU coach 999605, the original is converted from a southern EMU But I've done my conversion with a mk1 coach This little project involves one of the £4 hachette 'your model railway' coaches, nice and easy to strip down and cheap if it goes wrong, I have previously done some mods on it including changing the wheels for Hornby ones and reaming out the bogies for better running They are so easy to strip Removed the windows but then refitted some of them! Blanked off a window at one end Then using deluxe putty... Filled the window holes where I had refitted the glazing and left it to cure Into the roof where I cut a big section out Blanked off the end Then made a flat section to replace part of the roof Made a grille at one end in the window hole I'd put the blanking plate in Made a couple of small windows out of one big one Then rubbed down the cured filler Clipped together The one thing that should finish the coach off nicely are these etched window frames from Southgate works, got them with my 'mentor' kit, a few frames short so I'm hoping Shane has another set I can buy off him! In place to get an idea if they look, a perfect fit for the hachette coach Back to the roof, generator exhaust panel And all put together ready for priming, added a fuel tank and water tanks to the chassis And in a train Really pleased with it for about 4 hours work

Rode charlotte and Stella last week too! Saw this when I got back to crewe too 37605 having arrived in from stoke Granville sidings Looking a bit worse for wear