John Isherwood

See the several variants of my transfer Sheet BL166 at https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm These numbers / allocations are taken from a list of prototypical brakevan numbers / allocations. Regards, John Isherwood.

This is a general comment - certainly not aimed at you. Anyone who finds fault with this model, and is not prepared to take a pot of paint and a brush and apply paint to the spokes and rims of six wheels, has no claim to be a railway modeller; IMHO. John Isherwood.

Precisely - and, in my case, it's loco lamps. My locos will be required to perform a variety of tasks and, despite the S&DJR having a minimalist headcode regime, I believe that no lamps are preferable to the wrong lamps. One point that is rarely mentioned is that loco headlamps - contrary to almost universal modelling practice - were NOT pristine, brilliant white. In my experience, they were usually filthy, and therefore often difficult to detect on an approaching loco. John Isherwood.

Paint, brush. John Isherwood.

The sheer number of pens, notebooks and typewriter ribbons required boggles the mind - let alone the time that it must have taken! John Isherwood.

David Larkin published a series of wagon data sheets - which fill an extra-large ring file binder. These are extremely comprehensive, having been hand copied by David from BR records, and then typed-up and photocopied. They cover the BR wagon fleet type-by-type, and include number listings for the four pre-Nationalisation companies, BR and, to some extent, the ex-PO fleet. The volume of information in these data sheets is mind-blowing, but I do not think that they are obtainable nowadays. John Isherwood.

As soon as I bought my copy, I scanned the tables, blew them up to A3 size, and had them printed. Much easier to use. I took it that the OP was looking for a database relating to all wagons that ran on BR - not just those that it built. John Isherwood.

You may well struggle - the subject is huge. The information can be sourced, but not in one location, to the best of my knowledge. I have spent well over fifty years accumulating information and references on the subject, but have never had the time (or inclination) to try and compile a database bringing together all of all the information out there. John Isherwood.

By 'Airfix' tank wagons, do you refer to the RTR or kits models? John Isherwood.

Shouldn't be too difficult to get hold of some matching paint and cover the somewhat 'pinky' plastic. John Isherwood.

Treat with caution - by the author's own admission, the information is somewhat generalistic and may not be wholly correct / accurate. John Isherwood.

'Right' is a completely personal concept - fortunately, it is different for every individual modeller, according to their interests, knowledge and priorities. I'm not sure that publicly critiquing models according to one's individual priorities is kind - though prefacing such comments with "Now if I had been building it ......" can take the sting out of the negativity, and indicate that it would be a personal imperative. Chacun à son goût !! Vive la difference !! John Isherwood.

The trouble with the "very ancient Triang Utility Van" is that the plank joints are represented by raised instead of recessed lines. John Isherwood.

Here's another photo of the same abberation :- John Isherwood.

Regretably not, Les - I leave the blue era to others as, to my mind at least, railways lost their character in 1968. Sorry, John.

I can only comment on my own experience of DC; but, since I started using a variable voltage regulator as a controller I have had superb smooth running from all my conventional; (as opposed to coreless); motors. See : - Prior to using this controller, I used H&M Walkabout controllers, by which I swore! However, I now prefer the LM 317 based regulator. John Isherwood.

Unimat miniature machine vice. John Isherwood.

Must have been Friday jobs - I have built quite a number of K's kits; all of which required only modest fettling. John Isherwood.

This is why I get cross when people dismiss K's kits as rubbish! There is nowt wrong with that whatsoever - very nice indeed. John Isherwood.

B-set - remove the buffers; didn't most B-sets lack conventional buffers? (Any GWR coach experts out there)? My setting allows buffers to nearly touch on Peco Medium Radius points. If you need longer couplings, just leave the new brass shanks longer when marking the pivot hole position. Leaving more of the steel shank may cause problems with pivotting and / or clash with vac. pipes, etc. John Isherwood.

In short - yes. My standard fitting is made from 2.5 (or 2.0) x 1.5mm. brass bar; the latter allows more side to side pivotting of the coupling. The brass bar is bent and hammered in the vice to a sharp-cornered L; the shorter leg should be a minimum of 2.0mm. measured on the INSIDE of the bend. The longer leg will be cut to length later. Trim the short leg to 1.5 - 2.0mm. and square off the end with a file. The exact measurement depends on the vertical location of the NEM pocket - you will learn in time what length a particular vehicle needs. Take a Peco R2 coupler and cut off the shank and pivot, immediately behind the vertical tail. File off the blackening of the underside of the coupler head, immediately behind the angled 'push bar'. Tin the cleaned underside of the coupler head and the short end of the brass L, and solder them together so that the brass L forms a 'cranked downwards' stem to the coupler head. Drill a 0.5mm. dia. hole in the exact centre of the NEM pocket that normally accommodates the 'fishtail' of a tension-lock coupler, passing through both faces of the pocket. Offer the modified coupler up below the NEM coupler pocket, and mark and cut off the long leg of the L in line with the inner end of the pocket. The 'push bar' of the coupler should be roughly in line with the buffer faces. Blacken the new coupler stem with a permanent marker, and place the stem in the NEM pocket such that the 'push bar' lines up with the buffer faces. Turn a 0.5mm. drill into the hole already drilled in the NEM pocket a couple of times, so as to make a mark in the new blackening. Remove the coupler and drill the stem, at the mark that you have made, with a 0.7mm. drill. Place the stem back in the pocket and press a length of 0.5mm. brass wire through the holes in the pocket and stem to form a pivot. Bend the wire at right angles on what will be the the underside of the pocket and cut off the surplus, leaving a short stub that can be gripped to pull out the pivot at any time in the future. The springy nature of the nylon pocket will retain the wire pivot by friction alone. I know - WHAT A PALAVER !! But, when you've done a couple, it becomes second nature and you can churn 'em out by the dozen. In the time that it's taken to type this I could easily have produced a dozen, NEM-compatible Peco couplers. John Isherwood.

You rang, Sir? I will ultimately need such transfers myself, but that project is not currently high in my 'To Do' list. The problem, as I see it, would be in obtaining good, clear photos of these cranes during the BR steam era; (that is the only period I would cover). To see what I would cover - and for which I would need detailed photos photos - this is my sheet for the BR(WR) Booth PW cranes : - If anyone can help with images of these Cowans Sheldon cranes - I have the Tatlow trilogy - it may help in promoting this project, and the associated transfer sheet, amongst my seemingly endless list of things to do!! (Clearly, photos of any and all cast iron information / operating plates, from any period would be useful, as they would not have changed). Many thanks in anticipation. John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers, https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm

Isn't the "huge shaft with a D-shape" the output from the normally-attached multi-stage gearbox? I'm assuming that Mick married just the motor to the High Level gearbox. John Isherwood.

It must be a factor of different pick-up adjustment / pressure. I recently went over to nickel-silver from phospor-bronze; (largely in imitation of your practice); and there is definitely a tendency towards pick-ups squeaking that I didn't experience before. John Isherwood.

It's several years old now - but it was just the same when I bought it; old stock? I've even tried mixing some cream with additional liquid flux, but I can't seem to get on with solder cream at all. I mostly use my soldering iron, but when I do use the RSU I use cut slivers of solid solder. John Isherwood.