John Isherwood

I'm glad to hear it !! All the best, John Isherwood.

Is that a maroon or bauxite container under the 'Flying Crate' markings - that livery was only applied to bauxite containers. Regards, John Isherwood.

IF that is the case - and I doubt it - popularity will swiftly wane. Patience has it's limits !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Well, I wouldn't make any approach to them until the 28 days were up - that way, they can devote themselves to fulfilling orders rather than answering e-mails. Regards, John Isherwood.

...... so within the stated 21 days. Regards, John Isherwood.

As we try to emulate the prototype - how about this example of the Great Eastern Division exercising its independence ? I'd bet that would cause some comment at an exhibition ! Merry Christmas, John Isherwood.

Insist on the return of your repaired unit - or reject the replacement as faulty. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, I think that the 'black' is weathering - brown / bauxite is definitely correct. Regards, John Isherwood.

That's why I avoid producing 'generic' transfer sheets, and stick to 'custom' products - ie. transfers designed to fit specific vehicles; it's the only way to get 'em to fit properly. Naturally, this involves producing a broad range of different transfer sheets - but it's the only way to reproduce the prototype accurately. Regards, John Isherwood.

More than they'd like - these things are not designed to suit the 'circle of track on the carpet' brigade ! Regards, John Isherwood.

I'm glad that you said 'most' - they are spot-on from this supplier ! Moreover, a signwriter can subtly adjust lettering sizes to fit the available space - transfer designers do no have that luxury if the transfer sheet is intended to be 'generic'. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

I suspect that we know the answer to that one !! When all else fails - read the instructions (thoroughly)! Regards, John Isherwood.

No crane at Bath - but it does point to older packing / mess vans being painted red. Regards, John Isherwood.

Bath Green Park had a red ex-MR bogie coach as part of it's breakdown unit in the late 1950s / early 60s. Regards, John Isherwood.

True - but then you are using discs at three time the rate of using single discs - swings and roundabouts ! For my money, single discs are ideal for getting rid of the last residual traces of surface solder in tight crevices without affecting the underlying metal. I scrape off the majority of the solder with a 10A scalpel blade, and tidy up with the abrasive discs. Then, into the ultrasonic cleaner (Lidl) with a drop of washing-up liquid and a pinch of caustic soda crystals in warm water and - lo and behold - a pristine model, and an unbelieveable quantity of gunge left behind in the cleaner bath. Regards, John Isherwood.

Canadian Army forestry line (2'-0'') connecting with SG at Thetford. Regards, John Isherwood.

A chronic case of rose-tinted spectacles when referring to LNER days, I'd say ! OK, BR didn't have the army of semi-slave workers to burnish its locos and rolling stock that the pre-nat. companies enjoyed, but BR developed some superb steam locos - both of its own design and by impovement of inherited motive power. There is plenty of photographic evidence around of depressingly rundown locos during LNER days, and the conditions its enginemen endured were, frankly, deplorable. The pre-war LNER was certainly no glorious zenith - it was merely the result of cheap labour operating the technology of the day. Regards, John Isherwood.

Gibbo, Years back, when I bought my Unimat lathe, I decided to learn how to use it by converting the Dapol Booth crane to scale. To that end, I arranged to visit a derelict BR crane at Reading that had latterly been used as a yard shunter without its jib. I measured and photographed the crane carriage, and acquired copies of the original BR drawing for these cranes. The carriage is almost completed, but I've done no work on it for years. It has a pair of hidden, equalised bogies; is scratchbuilt from brass; and has working, milled steel stabilising beams, with working screw jacks on their ends. That was a very steep learning curve with the Unimat ! I really must finish the carriage sometime soon, and then get on and build a replacement, full length jib. Regards, John Isherwood. PS. The carriage axleboxes / springs were supplied by BR, and were from Midland Railway tenders. Fortunately, Slaters suppied / still supply the correct type as glass-filled nylon mouldings.

Is that a scratchbuilt, scale length jib? Fairly early on, the operaters' cabs had the front of the roof cut off and converted into a sloping window - presumably to give visibility of the end of the longer-than-standard jib. Regards, John Isherwood.

Dave, Then there must have been another version - the above is rather more than detectable; (please respect the copyrights indicated). The version that I think that you refer to appears to be a flat circular plate welded into the cut-out for the former dome-mounted valves - I have photos of those type too; they have a distinctive flattened top to the dome. I would suggest that, given that there were two types of dome infill on the Ross Pop-fitted locos, it would have been sensible to model the raised plate type. The flat-topped version could be reproduced with a couple of strokes of a file. What we have is a smooth dome - which appears not to have existed, if we believe the available photographic evidence. Regards, John Isherwood.

Is the firebox intended to protrude, through and below the footplate, to represent the ashpan; (as per prototype)? Regards, John Isherwood.

You surprise me - here in Bodmin the polling station was pandemonium, and the town centre was buzzing like never before ! I bet the local traders (but no-one else) are wishing for a weekly election. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, You seem to be saying that those who can build their own locos should do so; or at least be prepared to replace components that are inaccurate. I don't accept that argument.' You sound surprised by making the above statement. For well over 1,600 pages of this thread, that's what I've always been saying. Indeed you have, and I agree with you. What I am saying, though, is that when a new model is offered at today's prices, we should not have to replace components that are inaccurate. Those with the necessary skills, but lacking in time, would welcome the opportunity to devote their efforts to other projects. 'I cannot believe that it would be prohibitively expensive to reproduce, for instance, the bolted coverplate on the top of the dome' For an 'extra' like that, add over £6,000.00 for a further tool! You miss my point - the plate covered the hole originally provided for the Salter valves. Locos that had Ross Pop valves fitted had cover plates on their domes - the model of 58072 is missing this plate, as will all models with Ross Pop valves. The cost of including this plate on the dome moulding would be negligible. Regards, John Isherwood.

Well, in these days of limited production models and few / no spares; will we be able to buy replacement tyres from Bachmann in, say, 5 - 10 years time? I suspect not ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Clem, I suspect that you are far from being alone in this. Regards, John Isherwood.