SRman

I think the predictive text facility may have kicked in and altered your meaning a bit in that post, Ian.

Kadee 17 to 20 are the NEM plug-in ones - #17 are the shortest and #20 are the longest. I mostly use #18s for coaching stock (perfect for Hornby Maunsells) but for the Bachmann 4 CEPs, MLVs, EPBs and 2H units, and Hornby 2 BILs, #20s are the go for the unit ends as the buffers are rigid (unless you have very gentle curves, in which case shorter Kadees will probably do). For Bachmann DMUs of classes 105 and 108 I have found #18s or 19s will do the trick (sprung buffers help here). For Sprinters, I have only linked class 150s in multiple, but #18s work within the units, except for class 168/170 units where the corridor connections get in the way. I cannot remember for sure what I used for the 150s at the outer ends; either #18 or #19 work. I am at work so the trains are not conveniently handy at the moment! Sorry I have waffled on a bit but the more generalised answers may assist a few other people as well.

Does anyone remember the 1970s when the "in" colour to slap onto everything that didn't move was Mission Brown (at least, here in Australia)? Well, I have just had flashbacks while slapping some Mission Brown paint onto Church Hill to tone down the stark whiteness in preparation for the BRMA meeting in less than two weeks from now. This is a stop-gap measure as the hill still needs some extra layers and shaping. The paint is an acrylic 'low sheen' finish but in the photos it is still quite wet. As with the rest of the layout, there is still much to do before this area is really what I could call complete.

I don't know of any but that's not going to stop me buying one of the Hatton's specials shortly! It's my layout ...

1000 hp is gutsy?? The whole Brisbane suburban timetable was hinged on the 1720 class at one time, before electrification. The 60 ton locos like these were almost universally available where the 90 tonners were restricted to the main lines. Then came the 96 tonners for the mineral lines which, when running in Brisbane suburbs had to have their fuel restricted to limit their weight. Could you imagine BR pinning their timetables on class 20 haulage, although, come to think of it, the class 23, 24 and 26 locomotives operating out of Kings Cross in the early 1960s didn't have much more available power at the rail. Things have changed and moved on and many of the lightly laid branches have gone, and the suburban line infrastructure has been beefed up a bit. I can't honestly say I'll miss the 1720s with their loud thrash, which was deafening when in an old Evans car in the tunnels around Brisbane Central. That's not to mention the choking two-stroke fumes that permeated everything in the tunnels. Having said all that, I love the pictures, Matt.

Dapol were switching to the PluX standard from these models onwards, I believe, although I can't say for sure where I read that. It may even have been earlier in this thread or in one of the magazines. If they do stick to the 21-pin arrangement that makes it easy! Edit: I found the reference in post 47 from DJM Dave (posted when he was still Dapol Dave). http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/54082-new-oo-gauge-class-73/?p=861806

Yes, I know what you mean about relative sizes; some of the items are on the small side. I do experiment quite a bit with positioning before I am happy with the overall effect. The large card Tudor hotel in the middle would have dwarfed everything if not for the general slope I have introduced, so it sits at the lowest point and everything else was positioned, to what I hope is best effect, around it. In days long gone, when most of the available road vehicles were from Matchbox (Lesney), I used to grade them according to scale and put larger (1:71 and 1:72) vehicles to the front and smaller ones (1:77 and 1:78) to the back, with the near correct ones in the middle ground. To some degree, we can do this with buildings and other scenic items too. Those Bachmann and Hornby detached and semi-detached houses were just the sort of style I had in mind, bringing back memories of the general style of those I saw from buses in the Bromley and Petts Wood area as a child in the 1960s.

The Howes and Bif sound projects are currently only for ESU LokSound (they both offer class 73 projects - I have one of each). However, as long as ESU do a 22-pin LokSound they will be able to be put on to those. I'm not actually sure which PLuX configurations ESU offer at the moment, though - will have a look at their website later. Edit: I re-read Mick's post above and it looks like he may have answered my query re what is available from ESU.

It's not a view I normally get! I had to suspend the phone camera over the tracks and try to see what i was actually getting while still holding it steady. If you compare this shot with the nearly similar one taken earlier, you can see that the earlier shot served another purpose, in showing me what I couldn't see directly, that a little bit of the brick sheet wasn't stuck down properly under the bridge.

And a couple more photos of the same thing, without the distracting Blu-Tack blobs!

Yes, I just received a heap of it from an eBay store the other day - that's what I was waiting for to continue with this work! A pity they have stopped producing. The plastic arched viaduct sections are also Vollmer kits which i stocked up on a while ago.

Some more work done this evening on the bridge supports and retaining walls. The brickwork is Vollmer embossed card which is actually intended for N scale, but I think looks right for OO. There is much still to do, including some reinforcing around the bases of the walls and also at the joints between cards, probably using balsa wood. I can still lift the whole structure off the layout to get at the interior of the thing. The Blu-Tack is holding things together while the PVA glue sets. Once it is all dry and reasonably solid, I will dress the corner joints and colour the card edges, before weathering it all down a bit.

I was looking through one of the Ian Robert Hendry freight wagon books and there is a nice shot from the early '70s, pre-TOPS, of a BR blue class 85 hauling a train of these wagons with mostly Freightliners Limited containers in the grey with red band livery, a couple with the earlier BR Freightliner grey/red band livery (one even still with the BR arrow on it), and a few 30' red Containerway containers. Edited to correct the author's name! Book title is British Railway Goods Wagons In Colour: For the Modeller and Historian (Vol 1)

Going out on a limb here but ... I would speculate that it is just vaguely possible the NRM might possibly have a slight passing interest in E5001. Of course, I could be wrong!

My latest one had a noticeable front end shimmy when I first tested it but it really straightened out after a couple of hours running at half speed on the rolling road. I am very happy with it now. I fitted a decoder but it was one of the cheap Bachmann (Soundtraxx) ones. The running is smooth enough with this decoder but it sounds a bit 'chattery' so I will be replacing the decoder with a TCS or Lenz one in due course. My other two Cs from the first production batches have TCS EU621 decoders fitted which work beautifully and neither exhibited the slight wobble of this latest one.

... Unless you happen to live in 'that part of the world' already!!

Yes and no, farren. The wagons date from around 1964/65 onwards, and even Hornby's dated model was introduced around 1966 or thereabouts. That gives a little overlap in the steam era to the end of steam in 1968. However, the wagons were air braked and only diesels or electrics so fitted would be seen hauling them. They could be seen side by side with steam. EDIT: Sorry about the double post earlier - I have now deleted the other one.

I like the idea of allowing for selective shortening of the rakes. I would not be able to accommodate 2 x 5-wagon rakes but with a little modeller's licence, I could do two 4-car rakes to make one 8-wagon train plus loco. It also means I can sell off my old Hornby Freightliner wagons and containers, an intended project that never got beyond putting metal wheels in and straightening up the sagging chassis.

Here are the results of my extravagance! New, simplified SECR livery 271 is towards the rear, while the previous issue with full lining 592 is on the nearer track. 271 doesn't have all its fittings added yet, although I added a crew (probably slightly too modern). After running in on the rolling road on DC, it became smoother and the slight frot end waddle reduced as it ran, so I fitted a Bachmann 36-557 decoder, which works OK but is a little 'chattery' - I didn't have any other 21-pin decoders in stock.

I think that both of these points of view are right. The designer has to build the kit to ensure everything goes together as it should and also to compose the instructions. Someone else not connected should also do a test build (or two) to see if the designer has missed anything or left unclear/ambiguous instructions, or just made assumptions (easy to do when you are too close to a project). Having both things occur should ensure the best possible result from the kit and its instructions.

There does appear to be a slight 'peak' in each of the cab roofs, with a little flattening on either side. If that is the case, I hope they fix it for the production models. I do like the detail on the underframes and bogies, though, It makes the Lima/Hornby offering look quite primitive.

Yes, the grey livery wasn't until part-way through WW1 - my "during" was a bit vague but I wasn't trying to give a detailed history. That does mean the greens survived through at least some of WW1. It is possible that a few locomtives may have gone through the whole war in green - such things did happen during WW2.

While the Cs were ostensibly goods engines, they could and did haul passenger trains too. The SECR 'birdcage' sets will not be out of place with a C in front. You are correct in that the more ornate version is earlier, the less ornate one was as a result of cost-cutting, although it was still an attractive livery, but was it overkill for a 'goods engine'? Perhaps, in light of what I said first, the powers that be still wanted a presentable livery. During and after the 1st World War, a grey livery was adopted for locomotives, as per the Bachmann Collector's Club release earlier this year.

This is much nearer what I had in mind for this bridge. There is still much to do but it's a start. The idea is to open up an area to be able to see the trains, while the arched viaduct section allows only glimpses as the trains pass. The inspiration comes from a rail over road bridge at Oxted, which combines a lattice section and brick arches, although its construction appears little more complex than I am attempting - mine is intended to give the 'flavour' without taking me years to build! The main deck is balsa wood, with Plastruct 'H' section girders, in turn supported by lattice girders made up from four of the Ratio Pratt Truss kits, intended for signal gantries.

Just a few more pics continuing on from the previous post (and minus the locomotives in the road!)