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Hi Jack and Mick, As mentioned, this SEF N15 build is really a bitza job made up of all the parts left over from a number of kits. In the case of the boiler, I used the white metal N15 boiler from the SEF kit to build H15 30491 which was the only H15 with a Urie taper boiler. The H15 kit was a PDK hybrid kit intself, Paul supplied a H15 kit, which normally has a brass parallel boiler with a KIng Arthur boiler which was made of Resin. Because 30491's boiler would need a lot of chopping about to fit the H15 chassis I thought that would be too difficult with a Resin boiler and used the SEF kit white metal boiler. So in that sense Mick I kind of agree that resin boilers do have limitations. In relation to drilling and assembling the PDK resin boiler on this build I have found it very easy so far, easier than, for example, a brass boiler. I have built a Crownline A1/1 kit too and found it a challenging build but the resin boiler was not really a problem if you paid attention to the boiler/firebox transition it can look odd if too pronounced. Perhaps you found that Mick? Thanks for your interest and comments. Richard B

I have been working on the resin boiler since it needs a fair bit of work to get it into 30755 form. I know there is much discussion about the relative merits of resin boilers but in the case of the PDK N15 boiler I have no complaints regarding form and dimentions, they are all fine. One advantage over, say brass (which I also like and use), is just how easy a material it is to drill. A couple of pictures of the boiler temp fitted. We are still working on our corner of the U3A Club layout. The footbridge is now fitted and only requires weathering and some more vegetation to add. It will be finished in time. The layout is freelance but the footbridge has a very Midland Railway flavour to it so it is fitting for Buxton. Kind regards, Richard B

The very old SEF "Bodyline" kit is going to need some modification if it is to fit the excellent SEF chassis. Not really a surprise given its age and design. I decided that I had little chance of soldering the other half of the running plate to the cab spectacle plate unless I had a second point of reference so I made up a fairly thick brass spacer, which would also double as the front securing point, at the front of the running plate. It was soldered level on one half and it was then fairly simple to solder the two halves of the running plate together. The PDK boiler was offered up to check its relationship to the front of the running plate. The boiler will need a lot of modifications including a smokebox wrapper and front plate and changes to the firebox end. To further strengthen the front end ( the original cast front end and buffer beam have been discarded) and provide the front of the running plate I soldered a piece of scrap N/S to the cast lugs on the running plate sides. You can just see them in the picture above. Underside showing the body/chassis securing nut soldered on the underside to avoid contact with the smokebox. These changes will mean removing a short section of the frames. Kind regards, Richard B

After much fiddling and cursing I managed to assemble the valve gear and the chassis is undergoing initial running in as I write this. It started very well from a low voltage and is now running at this low setting with no problems so far! Next step will be to build the bogie and then run the chassis around my layout which has some tight curves. No doubt more adjustment will be necessary. Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Al, from Buxton just up the road from Ladmanlow. Was this picture taken in "plein air" as were the earlier series? This is probably the best of the series, excellent. Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Michael, Yes that is the issue, clearance very tight on all Urie 4-6-0s due to large bogie wheel diameter. They were subsequently cascaded to the eight wheeled tenders when worn. I have a motion bracket made up (on which I could fit the SEF piece from the fret) spare from another build but it will require some adjustment to fit. Any suggestions for a correct hight Lemaitre chimney supplier for this build? Kind regards, Richard B

Most of valve gear now assembled and after some fiddling and fettling - runs smoothly. Bit concerned about the slide bars - they have no support other than at the cylinder end. I may have to add a supporting bracket to steady them. The motion bracket,which is still to be added, seems to be cosmetic only. A few additions to the cylinder "front" the cover is 10 thou brass sheet and the cylinder releaf valves made from brass spare pick-up plungers KInd regards, Richard B

Some very pleasant images thanks. As you probably Know, the gentlemen smiling at the camera is Alejandro De Tomaso the owner of Maserati (and a lot more) at the time. He may also have been a Mafia gent as well, best not to speculate...... Kind regards, Richard B

I have been working on a corner of the Buxton U3A Model Railway Group layout. It is a rural corner where a footbridge will take a path over the railway into an industrial area. We are about 12 or so gentlemen of an appropriate age i.e. mostly retired that meets once a month. In October our layout will be exhibited at a local show. Some lovely cakes have been consumed over the months. Some tight curves! Meanwhile the N15 continues. All the valve gear has been cut off the fret and filed to profile, drilled as appropriate for 14 and 16BA clearance, and most of the securing setscrews soldered in place on the back of the appropriate rod. In close up 14 and 16 BA do look large. The odd looking piece next to the crosshead on the left is the drop link before the 16BA setscrew is cut to legnth. Kind regards, Richard B

Hello Bernard, If I recall correctly, the term that tended to be used during construction was sag and depending on requirement this could be positive, or as you might say "bow" and negative as you might say "dip". I am sorry that you found it all a bit confusing. I hope the effect of the load on the vehicle structure - the deflection - was understood. Kind regards, Richard B

Good afternoon Tony, This image does seem to show a some sag although I wonder if the destortion is perhaps due to bogie/body ride hights? The centre articulated bogie end of each vehicle seems to riding lower than the other end of each vehicle? Irrespective of that, it is interesting that modellers would not replicate this prototype feature on a model! All those images of locomotive handrails bent in all sorts of angles have not, to my knowledge, appeared in models, except when not intended that is...... In the late 1980s when class 90/91 were being built at Crewe, all the frames had a pronounced design positive sag so that the frame was level when all the equipment was fitted, for example, the class 91 had four 1,500 hp traction motors mounted in the body with an articulated drive to the gearboxes, these were rather heavy as was the tranformer! I am less familiar with coach design, particularly those with a large steel underframe which ended with the BR Mk1 design on BR. Given that, it was very likely that some sag was designed into a coach frame to allow for the deflection caused by equipment weight. I vaguely remember some Maunsell coaches stored at Micheldever yard on the way to scrap with very pronounced negative sag in the centre of the vehicle due to extensive "Wear and Tear". Kind regards, Richard B PS I have also heard the term camber (positive or negative) to describe what has been termed sag in relation to rolling stock.

Unlike previous builds where, on occasion, the pick-up arrangement was tailored to fit in with brake gear with some poor results on this build everything on the underframe will have to fit around the pick-up arrangement which is simple but very effective. Return is via live wheels - not ideal but determined by the spare wheels available for the bitza build. I have not yet used the Scale Model Railway Scenery Arid Earth yet but it looks good for some of the area between the main line. Kind regards, Richard B

Good morning Tony, All us older types all suffer from that Tony! Lovely looking build. I am back on loco's again building a "bitza" N15 4-6-0. Parts sourced from many kits and leftovers. Kind regards, Richard B

What about the Alan Gibson G6 kit Jack? That builds into a fine model. Kind regards, Richard B

Yes I agree John. A regular car type discussion (amongst older types like me) goes along the lines of: "Modern cars - you can't work on them, everything is sealed" "My mate had a ..........and the new engine management unit was £0000s" " I remember my "please insert" back in the 60's it was dead easy to get at everything you could get the spares and could repair and service it yourself" All of which is true and so is the unpleasant (perhaps) truth that you were always working on cars back in the 1960s because they were generally unreliable and needed lots of preventive maintenence. None of which is true of modern cars - they are brilliant, reliable and generally don't need preventive maintenance for a couple of years. In between we just get in them and drive! Kind regards, Richard B

A brief update. Half of the old (I suspect Romford) Romford/Markits wheels had no holes drilled/tapped for the 10BA crankpins. The wheels were drilled with a 1.4mm drill and then tapped with a 10BA tapered tap very carefully. Use oil and reverse the tap often to free up the swarf. I am using Markits return cranks again (M4CRNKPRtnERp) which means opening out the coupling and connecting rods to clear the larger crankpin journal. For this reason I am using a Bill Bedford N15 valve gear fret that I have had for years because the connecting rod "land" around the centre crankpin hole is much larger than those supplied with the otherwise excellent SEF valve gear fret. Crankpins all in place and the threads dosed with Loctite 243 and tightened. I have soldered 16BA (which will be trimmed to the correct legnth) set screws to the slidebar assembly because I prefer to use setscrews for valve gear build rather than rivets to facilitate maintenance. Kind regards, Richard B

I fully support that view Mr Wolf, I too am an Engineer (retd) and enjoy fine art. Even us engineers dabble(d) in Physics and the scientific method. The way that maths and physics are converging around cosmology is fascinating. The huge gulf between us clever apes and the universe that we contemplate and try to explain is simply amazing. As a rather famous scientist once said, the human imagination is our greatest attribute and tool, or words to that effect. Back to building a N15 4-6-0...... Kind regards, Richard

Good day Tony, Can I add my fairly lightly weathered ex GCR/LNER class B9 4-6-0? It is shown on Basingstoke shed turntable and how it got there is hard to justify. It's final shed was Stockport (Heaton Mersey) so how it reached Basingstoke, via Reading I assume, is a mystery? Just a bit of nonsense really..... Kind regards, Richard B

Layout doing well and I have finished the Push-Pull driving trailer I was building for Jack Benson so I am sneaking back to do a bit of loco building. Given that all our earlier images have gone, I thought I would remind you of the last few builds the V2 and a Urie S15. So I now intend to continue with a Urie King Arther probably 30755 The Red Knight which was often on Basingstoke shed and was shedded there between 1956 and 1957. My apologies, I have no idea where this excellent picture came from to attribute it. This build is a bit of a hybrid. The chassis is SEF as is the body, although this will need some modification, for example I am not using the SEF boiler. When I built my model of H15 30491, the Urie loco fitted with a tapered boiler to release a parallel boiler as a spare for the other 9 locos, I used the white metal SEF boiler from the King Arther kit because it was easier to modify than the resin boiler supplied with the PDK kit that I used for the rest of the loco. So... the spare resin PDK boiler will be used on this build. I'm glad that is out of the way and wonder if all that waffle was really necessary... The chassis is nicely designed and I am using a spare DJH motor/gearbox assembly. I also had some old Markits wheels laying about so I am using them too. They are not to the latest profile. Kind regards, Richard B

I wan't a 6 litre GTR... but do I really need one? Have not looked in for a while Clive, brilliant stuff on all fronts... Hope you are well and a big thanks, Richard B

The Roxey driving trailer kit built for Jack Benson is complete apart from numbering, lettering and weathering that Jack is performing. I hope he likes it. It is the first coach I have built and found it very fiddly... One issue I had was the need to match the colour of the Bachmann vehicle on the right of this picture. The Railmatch Crimson is a little brighter than the Bachmann colour so I used a dark undercoat and thinned the crimson. The roof is not fixed. Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Jeff, Thanks very much for the great images and the background information regarding production. Perhaps I need to think along these lines to improve the amazingly poor quality of my layout/loco pictures... 2001, A Space Odysessy Was a great event back in 1968, you just had to see it. It was a true film classic. The more we learn about our Universe the less certain Physics becomes about explainations. It really is chaos out there...... Sorry to interupt the bridge discussion Ade! Kind regards, Richard B

Agree, I have long thought that the Thompson Pacific's were dramatic looking beasts and the fabulous weathering of 60500 (not to mention the re-paint) just emphasizes the brute power of these locomotives. Grace and pace though are not words I would associate with Thompson's pacific's..... Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Some Maserati stuff on this thread and quite right too. A few pictures of an event held at Pembroke House in Wilton back in 2014. Lots of Italian exotica but I also rather liked the Bentley too. I think that we would all agree that even after all those years, the Bertone styled Lambo Muira (An S in this case) is still a "spaceship on wheels". Lastly a few pictures of my Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa owned from new but sold in 2015. Not an old car but in concept and shape, a 1960s 2+2 Grand Tourer. I fell in love with the Ferrari 275 GTB of the 1960s and this was the closest I could get, they go for many millions now! Kind regards, Richard B

Phil, I have to admit to a number of GW Loco's, a Hall or two, a Grange two 61XX tanks, all of which were frequent visitors to 70D. I even have a 28XX and a GWesternized ROD 2-8-0 or 04 as it is properly termed. Richard