SRman

Rob, if you had returned the model as faulty, Rails should refund the postage costs - you should ask them first, of course. On the rare occasions I have had to return models to Hattons, they have refunded my costs as well as sending replacements.

The van in the photo definitely looks like olive green to me. Of possible interest in OO models, Bachmann's 33-829 model was in grey with the yellow bits matching the photo, or 33-826 was in olive green but with wasp stripes on the ends (and with sand boxes fitted on the end platforms).

JSpencer has beaten me to it. The front axle looks fixable. As for the oil, in the photos I think it actually improves the model, making it look like a clean but used example of the class. As long as it doesn't attack the paint, I would add to it with some mild weathering.

Adding to that, the 74s had more powerful diesel engines than class 73, from Paxman, but these and all the new electronics used made them rather unreliable. Class 71s were acknowledged as very good locomotives but the work dried up (as stated above) and the 71s were too inflexible as straight electrics; if the power was turned off for maintenance works, they had to be rerouted by sometimes long and torturous routes to get to their required destinations. Electro-diesels had no such restrictions. It was eventually decided that class 73 could do most of the work that was required from classes 71 and 74.

Hi Doug. Yes, I agree, and I was just thinking that painting the rails also disguises the narrow gauge a bit too. I had to ballast the bit of track on the bridge because I had used the track bed sticky side up. The school holidays are almost over already and we haven't seen you and Mrs DougN and the mini DougNs for a while. Will get in touch soon.

Watching trains go by near Newton Broadway: Hornby 700 class 0-6-0 30315 is seen passing different locations with a local passenger train, made up of a 'van C' and a Maunsell 3-set 237. 700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr 700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr 700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 4 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr This was followed closely by M7 30108 propelling Maunsell P-P set 615. Maunsell P-P Set 615 with M7 30108 - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Maunsell P-P Set 615 with M7 30108 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Travelling in the opposite direction is an EMU made up of ex-Southern Railway stock. 2 BIL 2134 is leading, with 2 HAL 2639 in the middle and 'tin' HAL 2694 trailing. 2694 has not received its unit numbers at this stage. 2 BIL and HAL Multi - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr 2 BIL and HAL Multi - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Passing the other way is D6520 propelling two 4 TC units. 4 TC plus 33 D6520 - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Following the SR EMU sets is rebuilt West Country pacific 34026, Yes Tor, with a parcels and milk train. WC 34026 Yes Tor on Milk Train - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr WC 34026 Yes Tor on Milk Train - 3 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr More modern units (although not by much) are represented by MLV 68006 leading 4 CEP units 7128 and 7126. MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 4 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Coming the other way is 'King Arthur' N15 4-6-0 30764, Sir Gawaine, with a race day special consisting of horse boxes from several other regions and BR mark 1 4-set 869. N15 30764 Sir Gawaine on Race Special - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Following the MLV+8CEP is S15 4-6-0 30830 on a mixed goods working. S15 30830 on Mixed Goods - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr S15 30830 on Mixed Goods - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Some nice photos there, Chris. Thanks for posting them. The idea for mine was to represent very loosely somewhere in the south of London, but the location is flexible. My viaduct building was limited a bit by my inability to cope with curved viaduct sections, hence the plate girder bridge on the bend, chosen in preference to doing solid walls as supports. The other requirement was to leave large enough openings to get glimpses of the underground trains passing by - that's why I chose to engineer some more open spans like the one adjacent to the main plate girder bridge over the underground lines, with lattice girders, and the decision to move the Vollmer brick arches to the end and use the Wills stone arches instead (brick would have been better, but beggars can't be choosers).

Men in Malachite!

I'm slowly switching the stock to all steam era for a while. I have an idea to take a few photos of the various trains in different locations, now that they can get to anywhere on the layout under their own power, and there are more 'open' photographic locations available. Looking at the storage loops from right to left in the above photo; the modern post-privatisation container train will be removed shortly, and replaced with something more suited to the mid-'60s; the 2 x 4 CEP + MLV EMU is now made up of all green units (7126 + 7128 + 68006) (it was a green set + a blue set + a blue/grey MLV); S15 30830 on mixed goods will remain; D6520 + 4 TC units 416 and 404 will be removed, although the 33 and unit 416 in plain blue are just suitable for the latter part of the timescale; SR EMUs 2 BIL 2134 + 2 HAL 2639 + 'tin' 2 HAL 2694 will remain; N15 30764 Sir Gawain on horse boxes + green mark 1 set 869 will remain; WC 34026 Yes Tor on a milk train will remain; for now, P class 323 Bluebell on a 3-set 138 of SECR birdcage coaches in SECR livery will remain for a little longer before being replaced with something more from the mid-1960s. On the underground lines, I have already placed suitable trains, although Bo-Bo electric loco No 8 Sherlock Holmes and its pseudo-Dreadnought coach set are really at the early end of the time scale. Other trains are a 5-car Q Stock set, a 5-car CO/CP Stock set, and ex-GW 57XX pannier tank L89 on a short works train. I am going to make more of an effort to keep things more consistently in specific time frames for the future, changing them every so often. That will remove the appearance of anachronisms that have featured in many of my past photos of my models, although there will still be occasions where a new locomotive or unit may be on test that is well out of the time frame chosen - Bluebell is a current case in point, and the SECR liveried P will also feature in the not too distant future. If I choose some shorter trains, then I can store two (or more) in one loop, although that could make controlling them on the one line somewhat "interesting"! I will also have to swap a few road vehicles out. The majority are already correct for the 1960s, but the LT AEC Merlin buses (MB/MBS classes) will have to be removed from the roads. RT, RLH and RF buses are fine, though.

Another one for Chris (Sandhole): the container train from the other end, still being hauled by 73 141. This gives a view over much of the layout. At present, it is pulled out from the right hand wall so I can get in behind it to troubleshoot the points I referred to earlier. Various Container Wagons Behind 73 141 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I finished wiring the new siding this morning, a relatively simple job. The Peckett pictured yesterday propelled the wagons back into the siding under its own power all the way. I also went under the layout with a multi-meter at the church end of the storage loops to try to track a dead point frog. I thought I had found the problem (a dud contact on one of the bus wire connections) but there is still no power to that particular point frog. It's not a huge problem at present, but it means I can't run short wheelbase locos through that point. On a different note, a parcel arrived from hattons with some more surface-mount point motors, some wagons, some static grass, two motor coaches (The Kings Ferry), and a Dapol First GBRf class 73. A couple of bits came off during handling, one of which I have no idea where it goes! 73 141 Charlotte tested fine on DC on the rolling road (run for an hour or so each way), so a Zimo MX634D decoder was installed and tested. As expected, the direction of running was reversed with the headlight and headcode also illuminated at the wrong end, and the cab lights remained on at all times. I did the a couple of the same mods I did with my previous Dapol 73: a piece of tape was placed on the cab light contacts as a temporary block to the power, then the brush wires were swapped on the PCB connections (labelled M+ and M-). The cab light circuits will gain further modifications as per the first 73 later on, as this involves cutting tracks on the PCB and soldering new connecting wires. 73 141 was then put on the container train being hauled by 66 725, Sunderland, and handled it with ease. 66 725 was posed for a better photograph on the programming track. Bachmann Class 66 125 Sunderland - Portrait by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Dapol Class 73 141 Charlotte on Container Train - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Dapol Class 73 141 Charlotte on Container Train - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Thanks for the compliments. For the LT stocks, I did post photos in this topic way back, but they were hosted on Photobucket, which changed its policies with sharing photos, so most of those won't be visible now. Anyway, here are a few of the Q Stock, mostly taken just after I had installed the glazing, so there may be some white 'glue' showing on one or two of them. Q27 DM Glazed - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Q27 Stock Cars - Combined by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Q Stock Numbered and Decorated - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

It is a beautiful place. The Kiwis also have a great sense of humour; the Wellingtonians (?) have a Hollywood-style sign on the side of a hill in the bay, but the last few letters are upswept as if being blown away by the wind.

After experimenting visually with some track and a suitable point, I have spliced the trailing point into the outer track to provide a short refuge siding. This also involved converting the point as per the rest on the layout and wiring in a another auto-polarity switch, and while I had the soldering iron out, adding some extra dropper wires to the track further round the curve (which I had made provision for when wiring everything up before the BRMA meeting in March). Having laid the extra track, I now have to add a couple more dropper wires to feed the siding (although technically I could get away with just one wire and rely on the fishplates, because only one side is insulated at the point itself). I had put the soldering iron away so I could do the track laying, so I'll have to set it up again tomorrow to complete the job. I had hoped to fit the catch point in, but it needs a straight section and, as can be seen, that just doesn't quite work. I'll do what I did on my old layout, and put a false catch point in, with a rail attached to some sleeper ends, filed down to a point to blend into the running rail. A quick test through the point in both directions with a Peckett proved it was all working perfectly. You may also be able to spot the Hatton's P class crew added to the Peckett - they fit in absolutely perfectly. Additional Siding Added 08-04-18 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr IMG_20180408_222042 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Quite a bit of the alignment is dictated by the point geometry. The carriage sidings can swing just a tad further right, but have to be straight for the shed to sit over them - tight clearances within the shed. The other siding with the industrials is curved right for maximum length, but may well look better going straight from the point, albeit losing a couple of inches, as you have suggested. I can't do anything with the 3-way points, but if I used short rather than medium points for the two 'normal' points (one left-hand, one right-hand), I might make a few gains that way. The siding with the wickham trolley and Beatty well tank is actually supposed to curve a little to gain extra length, but has straightened out a bit due to lack of weight holding it in place.

I bought several of the crews for use in other locos as well. They were stuck to a wooden paddle and painted as a group. There are a few rough spots I should touch up but in general they have come up well. The first pair in older style garb have been glued into Bluebell. I removed the body then separated the footplate (undoing four screws allows this), then glued the driver into the body, with a spot of glue on his hand to stick to the regulator, and a dab on the other hand and lower side of his jacket to stick to the cab door, taking care to align the soles of his shoes with the base of the cab door. I then glued the fireman to the cab floor, just clear of where the cab side/door would pass when reassembling the loco. A spot of glue on the driver's feet was added just before reassembly. The hardest bit was threading the cab door handrails back into their loops as the cab and boiler were lowered back onto the footplate. Hattons P Class Crew Fitted - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr ​Hattons P Class Crew Fitted - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I bought several of the crews for use in other locos as well. They were stuck to a wooden paddle and painted as a group. There are a few rough spots I should touch up but in general they have come up well. The first pair in older style garb have been glued into Bluebell. I removed the body then separated the footplate (undoing four screws allows this), then glued the driver into the body, with a spot of glue on his hand to stick to the regulator, and a dab on the other hand and lower side of his jacket to stick to the cab door, taking care to align the soles of his shoes with the base of the cab door. I then glued the fireman to the cab floor, just clear of where the cab side/door would pass when reassembling the loco. A spot of glue on the driver's feet was added just before reassembly. The hardest bit was threading the cab door handrails back into their loops as the cab and boiler were lowered back onto the footplate. Hattons P Class Crew Fitted - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Hattons P Class Crew Fitted - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Yes, I had that partly in mind, although it will be a fairly short siding, so won't take the longer trains from the loops. Still, it should be useful as a refuge siding.

Further works on the Scenic area above the LT signal box and tunnel entrance: The Landrover has also undergone a little extra work, including losing the signwriting on its doors and the extra roof (which required four holes to be filled then painted - I used BR locomotive green to touch it up), a couple of coats of matt varnish and some weathering with powders. I think it looks suitably battered and "used" now. A 4 TC set passes behind, part of a longer push-pull train of 2 x 4 TC + class 33/1 D6520. Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 8 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr The Wickham trolley's refuge has also been enhanced a bit, with more muddy area around the track, and the track itself has now been painted. S15 30830 passes by with a mixed goods train, including an ex-GW Beetle prize cattle wagon and two ex-SR cattle wagons as part of the fitted head. The Beetle is actually classified as Non-Passenger Carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS), and is therefore in BR maroon livery, and could, in practice be included in passenger or parcels trains. This one may be being returned empty to the Western Region, hence its inclusion in an 'ordinary' goods train. Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 9 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Finally, for tonight, I have been toying with the idea of adding an extra, fairly short goods siding in the vacant area adjacent to the locomotive shed area. This illustrates roughly the alignment and where the extra trailing point would be let in to the running lines. Possible Extra Siding Near Engine Sheds - 05-04-18 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I'm not sure about re-using the cowls from the Lima chassis - it would take a bit of surgery on both chassis, I think. I can't remember off-hand whether the Lima cowlings were separate fittings, but I do remember I couldn't see any easy way to separate them from the chassis at the time of swapping the bodies.

That's a nice bit of footage, David. It is a fascinating and very scenic part of the trip. I have only ever done it as a passenger on the Brisbane - Sydney trains (and back again), or once only with 'Flying Scotsman' and 3801, Brisbane to Casino return.

Fortunately the body comes off nice and easily with only four screws; unlike some other manufacturers, we don't have to remove the couplings to get at any screws. I'm just looking at the Hatton's instruction sheet and their section on fitting sound; it appears that the running plate can be separated from the boiler and cab with just two screws (under the cab and smokebox, according to the instruction sheet), allowing access to the cab floor. I haven't tried this yet, but it may be the way to go.

There are a few errors in Hatton's listings. I alerted them to the various pre-owned Bachmann N class listings where they say "split chassis - DCC incompatible" (or something very similar), whereas, in fact, the N class was the first non-split chassis type Bachmann produced for the British market (marketed as the 'Blue Riband' range at the time). While they didn't have a DCC socket, they were easily converted to DCC by removing the PCB and hard-wiring a small decoder located where the PCB used to be. I got an acknowledgment from Hatton's saying they would look into it but I haven't heard anything further. My motivation was merely to help them with selling the items as the existing listings were misleading and might actually deter potential customers.

The exhaust ports are on my "to do" list for my blue ex-Lima ex-'toffee apple' class 31. This has a Lima body on the newer Hornby RailRoad chassis. I had to add the cowlings around the buffer beams using some plastic card, because the Hornby chassis lacked those. The Lima body was originally a 'toffee apple' 31 004 which I detailed up a bit with things like separate wire handrails on the front and a repaint. I renumbered it into the blue star series of 'skinheads', pre-TOPS, but the Mirrlees ports remain until I pluck up the courage to tackle them. Class 30 improvements 8 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I am busy painting the crews up at present. Of course, I have to wait for each colour to dry properly before doing the next one, but they are slowly starting to look human. After running the test train with Bluebell hauling the engineering wagons (warwell, 2 x sturgeon A, ex-SECR 'dance hall' ballast brake), I decided it would look good on either a Maunsell lined olive set or the SECR birdcage set ... I chose the latter for the next posed shot. Hattons P Class with SECR Birdcage Set by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr