Adam

And here it is: http://www.weardale-railway.org.uk/images/sentinel2.jpg The line along the side sheet is a typical Rolls Royce Sentinel feature so this may well be the original paint. That version of the Tarmac branding is fairly recent, the old one is shown in the link below: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/20/Oldtarmac.jpg/300px-Oldtarmac.jpg Adam

The Esso version is liveried as a preserved machine though it is broadly as it would have appeared in Esso service (barring the name/lettering which is probably easy enough to remove). http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/industriallocomotive/hd746e0a#hd746e0a The NCB version is a locomotive which has been preserved but not in that form; owing to accident damage it had a new cab in Thomas Hill style (see the link to the Bluebell site in my post above). Not sure about the Tarmac version, but barring the corporate logo, it's representative of a Rolls Royce/Sentinel factory paintjob. Adam

I beg to differ on that. This seems to be the prototype shot the NCB machine is based on in the first picture on this page, prior to rebuilding by Thomas Hill: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/locos/d/sentinel.html Note that the items in question are nowhere near that size. The axles, so far as I know, are in outside bearings (the steam loco's certainly were and the diesel chassis were pretty much the same design) - so 'axlebox' seems a perfectly reasonable description. I've not seen a picture of a Sentinel with dust covers anywhere and I've spent far too much time looking... Adam

Thanks for linking to those shots David. Barring the axleboxes (which seem to be twice scale size - painting them yellow makes this really obvious) and the poorly assembled Tarmac version that doesn't look too bad. The brakegear looks nicely done even if the side skirts don't; the rather crude gap around the edge on what should look like a single sheet of metal jars. Has anyone seen a good three-quarter view or elevation of the bonnets yet? Adam

Thanks, yes that makes more sense. Not quite sure why the link in the OP went in that way but there you are. Adam

Most odd, I can click straight through, but glad you got there in the end. I can't say I've seen a Flickr photostream display in that way before, very awkward. Nice shot of an interesting vehicle though. Adam

It is the weirdest way I've seen of displaying a Flickr gallery, but this works for me: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/29080235@N08/4952107816/sizes/l/in/set-72157624442976309/ WR Foden S21 coonverted to a recovery lorry for ONCL. Adam

And the bijou version at Barry Island - note the hoppered coal delivery lorry in the background. http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/mysteryphotos/show.htm?srch=mountain%20ash&serial=8&img=B-67-18 Adam

While I remember, there is a picture of the current state of the first of two Coil Ks (batch production but I've only got the bogies for one at the mo'). The frames should be a bit deeper over the bogie centres I feel; there should certainly be less 'daylight' above the bogie frames and less of a contrast in depth - the 'shape' on the real thing is a bit more subtle than I've made it. Compare with this prototype picture: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/coiltferry/h341bec27#h341bec27 A bit of 20 thou' strip on the bottom of the frame to extend it downwards to meet the bogies will do the job. One of the perils of working from pictures and diagrams rather than proper measurements and drawings. Adam

Thanks Colin. The chain rings are the easy bit; making the insets into the deck was the tricky bit. The reason I went to the trouble, aside from the sheer fun of it, is that they should be functional and will in the fullness of time secure a load. I don't suppose anyone will notice, even though it'll be in plain sight, but I'll know and that's the point. Adam

Thanks Andy. Yep, seen those, and very good they are too. There's a limit to the number of changes you can ring with plasticard wagon building so expect a degree of similarity. The Cambrian bogies for a start... the only real differences, I suspect will be that I'll do the hoods in the way that I've done my earlier wagons and fret the 'V' hangers from brass, glutton for punishment that I am. Adam

I do think that condemning the entire medium of whitemetal on the basis of an extremely old, un-revised kit is perhaps a bit rash. This must be one of Wills/SEFinecast's oldest kits and the reason that it hasn't been upgraded is the Hornby model (which is a bit short in the bunker - there was a rebuild of one by Francis Samish in BRM, probably about 15 years ago). There are some excellent kits in that range although the E2 certainly isn't one of them. The only direct comparison that I can make is for the LSWR O2. Finecast's kit for this is a league ahead of the etched Gibson version though both can be made to produce a nice model: the chassis is about the same amount of work of course, but the body of the Gibson version is poorly designed and very difficult to build square with a host of designed-in errors and potential to incorporate more errors. The best route in that instance would probably be the Finecast chassis, boiler and fittings (the quality control on the Gibson brass castings was abysmal - this was from Alan Gibson, NOT the current owners) and Gibson tanks and cab but only for the reasons of weight distribution with an 0-4-4. The assumption that "simply being a 'kit' the model would be far superior as a base to detail" is interesting, to say the least... Good luck with the next attempt. Adam

Thanks Mark. I'll have to see what's in the box of bits - I've got plenty of V hangers and other bits around the place. The brake levers (4 off) are a unique shape so I'll have to adapt something, but at least with Paul Bartlett's pictures and the Cambrian instructions, I won't have to waste too much time working out where all the bits go which makes a nice change. Adam

Among the workbench clutter after a long gap, is this Bogie Bolster D, back converted from the Bachmann BDA. Yes, I know that there's a Cambrian kit for this very type, but the little underbody gussets on the solebars are the very devil to do (though not all had them), and well, it was quite cheap. The principal differences between the BDA and a diagram 1/484 are the bogies and the number of bolster. Oh, and air brakes but that's by the by. Here's the full thing: The Cambrian bogies with the 'one piece' mainframes aren't too bad, but the bolster detail could be a lot better (and should stick out more). The spoked wheels are temporary; they're there to set up the ride height on the new bogies. Anyone want a pair of untouched Bachmann Y25s? A scrap view showing the modifications to the deck. The chain rings are inset into the deck - tricky, but worth the effort. The technique is to mark out where they go, cut into the deck all around with a scalpel and using the same, make a series of nicks at an angle. Some form of 'micro-chisel' does the rest, in my case the sharpened remains of a broken jeweller's screwdriver. The chaining rings themselves are simply lengths of tinned copper wire about 0.4mm diameter wrapped round a 1.5mm drill and carefully cut off one at a time with a scalpel (be very wary while doing this). These are secured into the deck by means of a 1mm hole and a split pin made from the same wire. The theory is that I'll be able to chain a load to the thing in prototypical fashion. Don't hold your breath. The other bit of plastic with the square hole, by the way, is the spare location for the moveable end bolster. Adam

That's magnificent, bonkers (especially without the front pony truck), but magnificent. Adam

Thanks for the mention Paul, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so over a week's worth of evenings. I'll be interested to see how you find it. Adam

Thanks Brian - all long gone by the time I moved here; I should have checked for photos before posting. Most of the Bevois Park yard is now housing, the owners shove all kins of things over the fence... We seldom made trips down the bank to St Davids coming from Yeovil when I was a kid so the freight traffic down there is a total mystery to me. Sorry Dave, posts crossed. I was merely trying to be explicit, apologies. Adam

Well it would be, Exeter Central was a Blue Circle/APCM terminal served by Westbury (an APCM/Blue Circle plant). There would also have been onward traffic to Barnstaple where there was another Blue Circle distribution terminal in the goods yard. There are some excellent pictures of this from the early '80s in one of the MRJ Compendiums showing the buildings and a pair of rather splendid Scammell Routeman lorries. As such, it would be very, very unlikely to see any other operators Preflos there or in block trains at Exeter Central though, assuming there were other rail-served distribution depots out there some where - and I suppose there must have been - they might have been seen at St. Davids. I dimly remember the odd cement wagon there in the '80s (I was very young), but I think these were probably the later air-braked types. As Brian notes, terminals could be very close to each other - there were two at Northam in Southampton. One north of the railway (but served by it) in the Bevois Valley and another south of the line where the Siemens/SWT depot now is. Both different companies so served by different wagons. One was Rugby Cement and the other was Tunnel (I think, do check). Adam

This one you mean Don? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sentinel_4wVBTG_at_NRM_York.jpg I take it that 'diesel' in the above was a slip of the keyboard - it definitely had a boiler in it last time I saw it at York. The bunker would be an 'extra'. The best place to ask about drawings would probably be the chap who runs this blog: http://sentinel7109.blogspot.co.uk/ - he's the Loco' Steward of the Sentinel Driver's Club (who hold most of the drawings). That loco' is a pre-war version of the 200HP variety. Quite different in many respects. Don't assume by the way that just because it's 'Railway' the stuff must be at York - always worth a look at the National Register of Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/default.asp Adam

So long as they are in safe hands - and their significance and worth is appreciated - I don't think it matters all that much where they are. Should that be threatened, that would be another matter. They are extraordinarily fine pieces of work (a C14 would be 'challenging' even now in 4mm - I don't blame the builder for not doing the full Walschert's valve gear) and photograph well though it's a sobering thought that they are wearing what were nearly contemporary liveries! Presumably 488 was modelled from the real thing then on the East Kent Railway? There were very few Radials in SR service by that date. Adam

That's the legacy of a very good county archivist who got in while the money was there (and got a fantastic new building too). In the current climate, don't expect much more any time soon - unless you have the money to sponsor such things... Some very interesting links here, all before my time in Norwich and the redevelopment of the 'Riverside'. It's certainly smarter now, but a lot less interesting though King Street over the river remains nicely disreputable in parts. Adam

So presumably the gate was usually shut against the railway? Adam

That's starting to come together really nicely Andrew. Was there anything to the left of the gate or did it really stop short? Adam

All very flattering and all, but it's dad's model and although it is in EM and could run on it (DCC permitting, dad and I don't do it), it isn't intended for BCB. I think dad just happened to like the prototype. I included the shot because Arthur happened to refer to it. It's far, far too clean at the minute. Agreed that this is a good project, a model of a railway and its surroundings That's the point. Adam

And going...