The Day we Caught the Train

"You and I should ride the coast and wind up in our favourite coats just miles away,
Roll a number,
Write another song like Jimmy heard the day he caught the train"

So the scooter has arrived at Shifting Sands... and of course parked up in the least photographically accessible place!

I think I will have to revisit the registration plate on the Harley using the method used on the scooter as it really looks lacking in comparison.

Colin

The Modern World

Shifting Sands is preparing for a one-man "Mod" invasion as I complete work on a 3D printed scooter I bought from Shapeways. This has proved to be something of a labour of love, the print actually snapped across the bottom of the front dash panel early on and despite being superglued back in position it went at least twice more during print preparation.

The last time was after the final coat of primer and I resolved to use Araldite to fix it in place, then hid the crack the best I could. Having almost given up I decided the quick way to a decent finish was to spray the using a Halfords 'Ford Meadow Green' aerosol and painting in the details afterwards rather than try and brush paint it all.

The only modification I have made to the print is to remove the folded-up stand and replace it with two pieces of wire bent around to use as a securing point on the layout. Plastic rod drilled out made new feet for the stand.

Registration and 'L' plates are printed on matte photo paper. The reg plates were created online from a plate generation site and reduced in size for printing. These are the full weight of the paper and marked around the cut edges with a black pen. The 'L' plates were carefully reduced in thickness by peeling off the back layer of the paper. Both are stuck in place using an acid-free glue stick. I need to add some weathering to complete the job but overall I'm a lot happier than I was with it!

Colin

Scooting over to Hull

It was good to catch up with Peter Leadley and the Clee Valley Railway today at the Hull exhibition.  Peter has described his O9 project on the NGRM Online forum and this was it's debut show.  Peter has put together an interesting collection of O9 locos, some being one-off scratchbuild's by fellow Hull club member Paul Windle.  Sadly some issues with the Windle 'Bonnie Dundee' hadn't been resolved, even the SMR's chief p-way engineer's input was sought.... Luckily though the issues with his Guest-style tender loco may have been identified, hopefully Peter can have it running on the Sunday!

Peter's has the first completed MG Models steam loco I have seen on a layout - painted in Northern Rail purple!

An overview of the layout, coaches are built from Avalon Line kits I made the masters for some time ago (just don't ask about the bogies...):

I promised Peter a visit from the SMR 'Scooter', here it proves that it, and a wagon, could fit on the turntable together:

Colin

Little Things...

Not a lot to report from the O9 Modeller workbench of late, in fact progress has remained set at a speed below slow... I have managed to paint a batch or two of smaller scenic items, some of which have an immediate use and others may have to wait for the end of the next ice age.

Some extra parts have been added to the Scooter's back-box on the advice of a former RH&DR employee (note also that the couplers are in place and light weathering applied):

The rest are currently stored in a Chinese take-away container for future use, there are a mixture of Skytrex, Knightwing, Black Dog and other parts:

Some of these are destined to add some fresh details to 'Shifting Sands' in advance of it's appearance at the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association AGM and Convention in Burton-upon-Trent on 8th June, though my plans for certain additions to the layout look set to fall by the wayside as my supply of 'round tuits' has vanished, I suspect they may have gone to the tip when I last tidied up the shed.

Others are for future projects, notably the tote bags of aggregate, the hardcore* 'Shifting Sands' followers will know that there are two of these on the layout already and we're not about to go into competition with Wickes.  As to what these future projects are depends a lot on time, energy, motivation and imagination (all in short supply), all those jobs that need doing around the house (which are abundant) and the lure of other distractions, some actually miniature railway related!  Time will tell, though if anyone can loan me a TARDIS I'd be grateful....

Colin

* Sorry, no pun intended. Honest...

Building the Romney Scooter - 2

Someone seems to have stolen the last two months, honestly.... alternatively, if anyone could explain to me where they have gone I'd be grateful....

The workshop eventually warmed up to allow primer application and subsequently a coat Halfords aerosol yellow over the warning panels (with suitably improvised masking) in order to give a gloss base to later apply the Fox wasp stripe transfers to.  I opted for 1970's style green, which was brush applied (a blend of Citadel 'Snot green'* and Vallejo 'Black green').  All other colours were also brush applied and were all acrylics except the red, which was a Revell enamel.  Varnish is Railmatch matt from an aerosol.

Once painting was complete and left to dry for a few days, I added glazing - 10 thou clear styrene held in place and coated with 'Kleer' floor polish, added Araldite to the headlights to make them look like light lenses, and also fitted the exhaust, load and roof in place, added weight in the cab and bonnet and fitted the Kato chassis in place with 'tacky wax'.

Since these pictures were taken I have added MicroTrains couplings and lightly weathered the model to a 'day to day' condition.  More pictures soon, hopefully with a more interesting background....

Colin

*which prompts the statement "oh yes it is!"

I'll get my coat....

Building the Romney Scooter - 1

When Allen Law launched his 'Minimum Gauge Models' range the one that caught my eye was the RH&DR 'Scooter' to fit a Kato mechanism.  The Scooter, or PW2, has been an item of Romney stock that I've known about for years, my late 1970s/early 1980s guidebook to the line shows it at Hythe next to one of the famous Pacifics.

I've only met the machine (I hesitate to say 'locomotive') once, on it's only trip away from home to date, to the Kirklees Light Railway in September 2011, where it operated with 'Redgauntlet' on the shuttle services.

The MG Models kit includes a number of compromises, some can be overcome to a degree but I think that you just have to accept that this isn't going to create a fully accurate rendition and just get on with it.. I have made several alterations and additions to enhance the kit as it comes.  Sorry there are no real "in progress" shots, I just wanted get on and build.  Here's the model, my guidebook, and a useful photo downloaded from the internet:

A closer view of the model, the biggest compromise of them all is the wheel positions, they should be right at the ends of the frame, the real machine is built on a former 4w coach chassis:

Head on view.  The handrail is one of my additions, as are the buffers, a bargain find at a recent exhibition:

Side view, I replaced the etched grille with a finer mesh from the scap box (dating back to an old MTK kit eons ago). I've added strips to the edges of the roof, and along the bottom of the cab sides, to represent the door sliders on the real machine:

I've scratchbuilt an exhaust from brass wire and tube, the real thing seems to have one formed from plumbing parts...:

After a pause in work I added the de/re-railing bars under the bufferbeams, made from scrap brass and some rail, soldered together in a jig.  They are too long in the photo, now corrected.  Ironically I have had to superglue these to the buffer beams as I've used plastic infills to tidy up the slots for the MiroTrains coupers and provide a mount for them behind the bufferbeam.  Headlights on the cab front and rear have been made from HO scale truck wing mirrors on a homemade mounting :

I did manage to find space for a customary Dapol part in the grouping created to cover up the part of the Kato chassis that pokes out into the rear compartment.  It's joined by a Merit 4mm scale postal sack in a new life as a bin bag:

The real loco now sports a hinged cover to this compartment, as seen here at Kirklees:

After some cleaning up both with a glass fibre brush and a good wash, it will be time to blacken the corners and vulnerable areas with gun blue, and then it will be time for primer (assuming the weather wants to warm up the workshop a little!).

Colin

A Bouquet of Steam (or 'Black Prince' in't North...)

A welcome break from the tedium of "having the builders in" was a trip to the Kirklees Light Railway's annual steam gala on Sunday 11th September.  Over the past few years the Kirklees supporters group has managed to pull together a star-studded line up of locomotives from many other 15" gauge lines, such as Cleethorpes, Windmill Farm, Rhyl, Ravenglass, Evesham and New Romney.  Last year the RH&DR's 'The Bug' made the trip from Kent and left several people wondering whether the holy grail of 15" gauge visitors, a Romney Pacific, would be next... after all, Cleethorpes borrowed 'Typhoon'....

I was informed some time ago that 'Black Prince' was the most likely candidate due to the slightly more tolerant wheelbase this machine has, being built for the German exhibition railways of the 1930s rather than the Romney main line.  Around the exhibition theme the Kirklees gala grew to include two examples of the pioneering 'Cagney' American 4-4-0 locomotives and the rather unusual (and something of a first) inclusion of the two RH&DR permanent way internal combustion locos.

The star attraction - RH&DR no. 11 'Black Prince'

'Black Prince' is a much rebuilt machine, one of three built by Krupp, Essen, in 1937.  Krupp only built these three 15" gauge locomotives, others for the German exhibition circuit being built by rivals Krauss, an example of which has yet to visit the UK.  By contrast all three Krupp locomotives are in the UK and the other two can be found at Bressingham steam museum.  Imported in 1976, here is a view of 'Black Prince' in the early 1980s to show just how much the loco has changed.

'Black Prince' at Hythe in the early 1980s. (C) Richard Peake

Although both of the 'Cagney' visitors, no. 44 from Rhyl and the "Peruvian Cagney", privately owned, had made trips to the far end of the line, we had to be content with a "Cagney Cannonball Express" shuttle as far as Cuckoo's Nest, which on a sunny day has a pleasant feel far away from the madding crowd, reminiscent of another age, perhaps a 15" gauge Surrey Border and Camberley?

Cagneys at Cuckoo's Nest.

Cagneys running around.

'Redgauntlet' and the 'Scooter' were busily occupied at the Shelley end of the line operating a shuttle service 'top and tailed' with resident loco 'Badger'.  Both of these vintage machines have a tale to tell and we will revisit them in detail in future blog entries, especially as both form the basis to kits in the MG Models range.

Redgauntlet and the Scooter at Shelley.

'Black Prince' is the largest loco to have visited the Kirklees line, so large in fact that an event usually reserved for visits to the Ravenglass and Eskdale was recreated in West Yorkshire.... the splitting of a Romney loco for turning.

Black Prince being turned at Shelley.

Driving without the tender!

I've only ever been to a Kirklees gala on a Saturday before,which despite the attraction of the 'late night' departure and return in the dark, has stopped me from travelling on the legendary "Shelley or Bust" 5.00pm train with all available motive power.  Although only featuring four machines this year (there were fears of a flattened 'Cagney' in front of 'Black Prince'!) this was certainly worth the wait.  On the return the two RH&DR internal combustion machines were added to the back, adding to the cacophony of sound in the tunnel, 'Redgauntlet' has at least five horns...

"Shelley or Bust" awaits return departure.

All in all a very entertaining day in the company of fellow miniature railway enthusiasts.  A huge 'well done' to the Kirklees staff and volunteers!

and it's good night from him....