West End Workbench

[Chas Levin]

I understand the recent drill at Halfords is/was that you cannot go into the shop. Either click, and collect from the door, or order at the door and wait for staff to bring your item to the till. I nearly used our Halfords a couple of weeks ago, but saw the queue outside, remembered the sometimes leisurely pace of service I've had there in the past (even when they didn't look busy), and decided that I could manage without for the time being.

The above pretty much summarises why i haven't been near Halfords either. That and they keep asking for my email address 'to send me my receipt'. Yeah, right.

We have the same 'order online & collect at store' system here, but I find some of their primer and other spray cans near indispensable, so... I've found that if you order online around lunchtime one day, so the thing is ready to be collected first thing the next day, and you make sure to get there when the store opens, it gets around the queue /speed of service problem.
You're right Jonathan that your email address is used to send you junk mail... but their cans are so convenient

[john coffin]

Pebbles,
perhaps the idea would be to collect actual proven evidence of such problems on all locos, not just these
two which I have not seen in a documented form before.

Paul

[bucoops]

Lavatory Composite now with added undercrackers. It's also had torpedo and clerestory vents, hinges, light switch and handrails added.



A visit to Scalefour North provided the opportunity to stock up on the bits I needed to complete the underframe fittings and also convert this Luggage Composite to electric light and vacuum brake:



This isn't my work, this was very nicely built by Mr. Scott of this parish and traded to me a little time ago. I had to remove lower steps, gas tanks and Westinghouse gubbins and replace with what you see.

Good Afternoon Jonathan, I hope you are well?

I have a small number of NER D&S kits in the pile, all diagrams that were cascaded to the GE section. The Elliptical roof ones come with battery boxes, as well as westinghouse and vacuum brakes. The Clerestory ones have Gas tanks and both brake types.

I've been trying to find info on what was fitted to those coaches cascaded - the implication is all were electrically lit and your two above appear to support this. But were all the coaches vacuum only or dual? The GE section still had a lot of westinghouse braked stock in the late 30s - do you happen to know if this was retained on those sent to the GE section?

Another query is the battery boxes included with the elliptical stock - something doesn't seem right. The instructions give a dimension from the centreline that puts the double width battery box in direct conflict with a bogie. It looks like you have used Comet single width battery boxes - are they correct for those built by the NER as electrically lit?

The NER diagram books, useful as they are of course don't have much detail. Isinglass don't appear to have any drawings of the relevant diagrams - any idea where I can source some information? I have BRJ Number 12 but that only appears to show gas lit coaches.

thanks

RIchard

[jwealleans]

Hallo Richard. I'm as well as one can expect to be in these straitened times, I think?

I can only point you to Danny's instructions, which I think were what I used to position battery boxes. I followed the accepted wisdom that the NE Area had done away with Westinghouse gear after grouping and removed it. Looking at photographs, there was much more dual fitted stock on the GE Area than some authors would have you believe. Other than in the indistinct background of photographs, I haven't found a decent picture of an ex-NE clerestory in service on the GE. Even the Seabrook pictures are devoid of any clerestories. Is there a drawing in Nick Campling's yellow book? I don't have mine to hand.

[bucoops]

Hi Jonathan,

Thank you - perhaps the dimension given is for the smaller battery boxes even though this kit (D130 brake 3rd) comes with double width ones. I just checked a D127 full 3rd that annoyingly doesn't have any instructions but has one single width box and two double. To be honest if the Comet ones are a better match I'd prefer to use those anyway as the included ones are a bit sparse on detail.

The yellow book has some of the non-corridors in it but the drawings show gas tanks but the photos look like they have single width boxes but aren't clear enough to confirm location etc. There is a drawing of a bow-end corridor coach which shows a battery box but as it's a different length underframe I'm going to ignore that one - and the box seems to be in between the two sizes anyway.

Thanks

Richard

[jwealleans]

What little memory I have of doing them is that they were single boxes set right at one end. I used the Comet ones as these all came to me more or less built and with none of the leftover etches.

I take the view that even if they're not in motion, no-one's going to be able to reach far enough over the barriers to measure them.

[bucoops]

Thanks Jonathan, very helpful

[jwealleans]

Couple of weeks' worth of updates from me, I've been a bit slack in keeping up with myself.

This was last weekend, but it's always a big step forward when a new loco moves under its own power, even if it doesn't get anywhere.



Not much more progress on the J6 since either although I have added more to the tender and added brake linkages to the other one.

The isinglass BTL is pretty much complete - a bit of touching up to the cornices and on the ends and it's there. I'm pleased with it and won't think twice about another of Andy's kits when necessity or the mood takes me.





In among working on that and another carriage, I've been refurbishing a Kirk BG. This came to me last year in a job lot, nicely teaked but not lined and missing some detail. So far I've replaced the Kirk underframe bits with MJT (the originals were a mix of both) and added fixings for couplings.



Above water it's been lined, rain deflectors added above the doors and holes made for brass handles where needed. The lining doesn't go round the toplights, the previous owner (who was a good modeller, I have quite a few items from his collection) had flush glazed it and whatever glue he used has gone white round the edges of each pane.



Last night was a feast of pure self-indulgence. Some weeks ago, DaveS of this parish revealed that he'd drawn up some etches for the single GN D343 Banana brake van. Cuteness embodied, if you like that sort of thing and Dave was kind enough to agree to let me have a set of same. For those who don't know it, this is the vehicle:



The parcel arrived yesterday and suitably motivated, it was iron on and away we go yesterday evening.



Two small frets, some handy construction notes, a set of axleguards kindly added and a diagram to check measurements against. Two and a half hours later....





It'll slow down now as I need to dig out axleboxes/springs, make a roof and add more detail, but you get the idea. It has sprung axles and rolls beautifully. The original was withdrawn and (presumably) broken up in 1923, but I don't see that as any obstacle to it appearing on Grantham when no-one else is paying attention......

[manna]

G'day Gents

Cute as, love it.

manna

[Chas Levin]

Love the Banana brake Jonathan . I'd picked that out from the GNRS Howlden book too as a particularly attractive vehicle and planned to scratch build - or more likely, kit-bash from something similar. Now I've seen you build, I'm even more keen on it. Do you know if DaveS's etches will be available for sale? If not, I'd had vague thoughts about cutting down a GN brake, perhaps one of Mike Trice's 3D printed ones...?

[jwealleans]

I'll let Dave communicate about that, Chas - he posts on here as DaveS - as i wouldn't want to commit him to something he's not keen on following up on.

[Dave S]

I shall redraw it with the corrections, so a case of 'watch this space' .....which usually means staring at something blank...

[Chas Levin]

I'll let Dave communicate about that, Chas - he posts on here as DaveS - as i wouldn't want to commit him to something he's not keen on following up on.

Thanks Jonathan, quite understood

I shall redraw it with the corrections, so a case of 'watch this space' .....which usually means staring at something blank...

Hello Dave, lovely looking etch! Fully understand if you don't want to get involved in sales but I you do, please would you let me know as this vehicle was already on my to-do list and I cannot imagine that any kit-bashed scratch-modified version by me would look as good as the one Jonathan's building

[Dave S]

Hello Dave, lovely looking etch! Fully understand if you don't want to get involved in sales but I you do, please would you let me know as this vehicle was already on my to-do list

I won't fill up Jonathans thread with my stuff but I'm re-drawing the etch as it seems I'm not the only one that thinks this has a certain appeal of cuteness about it.
I do sell the etches I do, but as not many model the GN it'll never be a busy time. It'll be a few weeks before the etches come back to me and they'll no doubt appear here when they do.

[Chas Levin]

Hello Dave, lovely looking etch! Fully understand if you don't want to get involved in sales but I you do, please would you let me know as this vehicle was already on my to-do list

I won't fill up Jonathans thread with my stuff but I'm re-drawing the etch as it seems I'm not the only one that thinks this has a certain appeal of cuteness about it.
I do sell the etches I do, but as not many model the GN it'll never be a busy time. It'll be a few weeks before the etches come back to me and they'll no doubt appear here when they do.

Thanks Dave - I look forward to it very much
Also look forward to seeing your build continue, Jonathan